Life's A Game
by leila'leilu
Summary: You can't put a twenty-eight-year-old ridiculously competitive academic into one of the most prestigious clans containing more ridiculously competitive academics and expect nothing to go drastically wrong. [SI OC] {AU}
1. One

_She_ was _so incredibly_ bored. At this moment in time she herself didn't really know who _she_ was.

She wasn't even completely sure if _she_ was still a she _._

 _She_ remembered that she had most definitely died. _She_ remembered studying, studying and more studying, and also recollected the topics of all her studies. That made _her_ a junior doctor, with all the knowledge and experience that she had previously obtained. Yes, she had previously been a third year resident junior doctor who had started specialising in emergency medicine in what was then a country called England in the UK, after graduating from the prestigious University of Cambridge, St John's college.

However, _she_ came to the conclusion that all that knowledge on procedures was probably fairly useless in this world, where there were super glowing hands that could seal up wounds in a few minutes and reattach separated limbs etc. etc. She wondered what sort of infectious diseases they could get here, since she didn't remember any of the Naruto characters having anything more than a cold.

Yes. She had come to the conclusion that _she_ was now in a universe that she previously only knew from a TV series, a series of manga books and an endlessly increasing world of fanfiction.

Sure, the initial panic from the realisation that her mind did not match _her_ new body wasn't a great experience, but what _she_ had in spades in this new world was time. She had time to get over her panic, time to calm down, and time to work out what she was going to do with a second chance at life.

She hadn't even started to think about _why_ any of this had happened though, she didn't think her mental state would survive that. Her current state was already fairly questionable after all - she was still referring to herself as two personas; a she and a _she._ She'd leave the questionings of _why_ she had been **reincarnated** some other time.

…Probably never.

Her mind was incredibly active, but _her_ body was not. How could it? _She_ now had the small, supple container of a newborn child.

 _She_ spent most of her baby days realising that she recognised most of the people around her, more specifically the main characters from what she remembered as the Uchiha clan. A young woman's pale complexion, raven hair and kind dark grey orbs became more and more familiar as time passed, and _she_ finally placed her with a name, Mikoto, after a younger woman with unforgettable long crimson hair had called her away. Memories of a giant orange fox demon and said redhead's ultimate demise had immediately surfaced at the sight.

Judging from _her_ age, and how they treated _her_ , she worked out that _she_ was younger than Itachi by more than a year (as he was currently a baby starting to be able to walk) and so around three years older than Sasuke would be and the normal Naruto plot.

 _Fantastic_ , she had thought. Smack right bang in the middle of two major timelines.

Her conclusion?

She had to **_think_**.


	2. Two

"Ama-chan..."

That was _her_ name. She picked apart the language the best she could in her current state and, once _she_ began attempting to communicate with the characters by copying the sounds that they made, she was met by multiple amused chuckles. It was only a matter of time before she started testing out the boundaries of her new body and was soon able to move with a modicum of competence, despite her size.

"She's really active, isn't she?" she heard the redhead, Kushina, say rather admiringly as _she_ squirmed out of her grasp and crawled over to the other side of the room.

"Ma!" _she_ burbled, taking one pudgy hand and knocking a scroll off the drawer and onto the floor. It was only after _she_ pointed at the squiggles on the soft paper and started screaming when the woman ignored her that Kushina seemed to understand what she was trying to convey and began to read to her.

The adults seemed to get used to _her_ rather strange desire to hear them read so _she_ didn't have to try as hard the next times to be understood. Slowly she began to match the characters to the sounds and, although she didn't understand most of it, her mind was active and so she was content. During her whole time there she only came into contact with three different adults, all of whom she recognised: Kushina, Mikoto and, very rarely, Fugaku Uchiha.

He was a stocky man, with chin length choppy hair that made his nose look too tall and his eyes too narrow, and every time she had seen him he had always been in an awful mood. If he was _her_ father she was not impressed with how he treated _her._ Whenever _she_ brought a scroll to him, he was the only one who pointedly ignored _her._

Itachi, however, he showed ridiculous favouritism to, carrying the toddler often and answering any questions he seemed to have. She didn't really care but she was definitely scornful of the petty actions of what was supposed to be a grown man.

One day she decided the way that she firmly distinguished her new body and her old mind as two separate identities was unhealthy and made a resolution to merge them - after all her mind was now in control of this body.

It was coincidentally the day Kushina brought some brushes and paper on her visit and tried to teach her how to write.

Emphasis on _tried._

Her new body lacked the muscle control needed to make the fine lines the redhead seemed to have no problem drawing and the fact that she was using a brush was not helping either. Once Mikoto arrived she did not look pleased in the slightest at the mess and promptly replaced said brushes and ink with pencils. It was quite amusing to see Kushina's usually bright demeanour wilt in shame at all the spilled ink and handprints across the wooden floor. Thankfully the Uchiha matriarch didn't seem too angry and had simply sighed, ruffling her hair and starting to try and scrub at the ugly black marks streaked across the floor.

Of course the ink had already dried so it didn't come out of the mahogany flooring and, once Fugaku arrived, he had exploded in absolute fury. The air around her turned cold and the glint in his coal black eyes sent an icy shiver down her spine. He didn't bother speaking to her but simply pointed to the marks and then proceeded to _slap_ her across the face.

She was absolutely aghast at his behaviour. The sharp sting caused tears to automatically well in her eyes and before she knew it she was wailing, crying out for Mikoto, Kushina, anyone to remove her from this bastard's proximity. It was insane, for this grown man to strike out at a child, a baby, younger than his own. She remembered from her old life that this sort of action would have been reported to the police immediately…but she smothered her indignant feelings. She wasn't in that world anymore. This sort of discipline was probably normal here.

"Urusai!" he barked and, although he didn't strike her again, he shouted some more and he threw a rag at her before slamming the door shut and leaving.

She was left there for at least the whole night but she didn't touch the rag. Perhaps it was her adult mind screaming injustice but she hadn't been the one to find the ink nor was she the one to initiate using the brushes. No, those decisions had been made for her by an adult and she was going to stand by those as not her own and, therefore, _not_ her fault.

Still, her left cheek burned and quiet sniffles accompanied her throughout the night. It _hurt_.

The next day she was woken from her huddled position by the quiet movement of the door. Mikoto stood there in her usual sleeping clothes and she realised that the woman had been home during the disciplining the night before.

She had been there and she hadn't done anything about it. Tears welled up once more but this time it wasn't because she was hurt nor was it because of relief, it was due to the unfamiliar feeling of burning rage.

She didn't talk to any Uchiha for the next week or so, ignoring Itachi's offers to play and Mikoto's gentle enquiries. The next time Kushina visited, which was a long time later, she threw herself at her, bawling into the redhead's trousers. During the whole time she was there she clung to her tearily, not allowing her to let go and promptly ignored the raven haired woman's coaxing.

"She's been like this since the painting disaster." she heard Mikoto say rather sadly as she lay contently on Kushina's lap, with the woman's hands running soothingly through her hair.

"Aw poor baby. That's quite a long grudge to hold." the redhead cooed gently.

"She hasn't apologised and Fugaku's still furious because of it." the Uchiha matriarch continued.

Wait. Apologised? Unknowingly, the child tensed at that word. And at that name.

"Why does he want an apology, wasn't it my fault? I've said sorry. I've also offered to pay for the floor if that's the problem. " Kushina frowned, her hands pausing. She watched as Mikoto shrugged helplessly.

"You know that's not the problem." she sighed.

What _was_ the problem then?

"That's no reason to take it out on the child, she's barely two for heaven's sake." Kushina growled and Ama snuggled into her protective hold.

"Exactly. She's two now and would be fine in the clan orphanage but she's still with us. I'm waiting on her brother because -" the Uchiha's gaze softened as she paused, staring at the small frame.

Ama strained to hear what was said next.

"because that place is an absolute — and you know it! You're the one that's always complaining about the — caretakers and the children and how —awful it is! You can't Mikoto, not Ama!"

She didn't understand some of the vocabulary used but she could take a pretty accurate guess from the redhead's infuriated tone.

Regretfully, Ama did end up in the orphanage not long after that conversation and her time there was strangely eye-opening. Kushina protested so viciously she had to be removed from the Uchiha compound but there wasn't anything she could do about it because it was a strictly clan matter.

She learnt many things at that orphanage.

One, that her full name was Amaterasu, as it was scrawled on a piece of cardboard and given to her to hold on the first day there. Not like anyone bothered to look at it or cared what she was called.

Two, since clan orphans were widely discriminated against and were pitted against each other at the orphanage, they were incredibly distrustful and were all very…alone. From what she could see, everything and anything was a competition there. To actually consume the measly amount of food you were given you had to protect it. To get clean water you had to get there first. To prevent sleeping outside you had to finish your chores... but finishing chores was incredibly difficult as everyone tried their hardest to sabotage each other. Knocking over that pail of soapy, grimy water, throwing the clean pans lined up in the kitchen outside into the mud, jumping all over made beds with muddy shoes etc. etc.

Three, the caretakers favoured the strong ones and squashed the weak themselves even though they knew of the dirty tricks used against them. It was probably in their job description. They seemed to strangely enjoy giving out punishments and Ama recognised sadistic tendencies in them. They probably all needed a therapist. Any _normal_ caretakers quitted the job after a day.

All in all, to survive there you had to be big, strong and most of all heartless.

To say Amaterasu had been appalled was an understatement.

But slowly, she began to understand. She worked out that this was how the clan made most out of their orphans. Instead of giving them that extra care in place of the lost parents, they weaselled out the weak and shoved the stronger ones into the academy so that they'd be out of their hair as soon as possible. She guessed funding was a problem. This method also meant the children would already be used to the 'better you than me' mentality that would inevitably help them when they made their first kill as shinobi. Furthermore, she would even take it as far to say that it was incentive for parents to not get themselves killed.

It was sick and backwards, even for Naruto times, and what was strange was that she found herself _caring..._ for the first time since she had been reborn into this world.

She realised that she had never viewed the people around her as _real_ people. For some reason it was imbedded into her mind that they were just characters. Perhaps that was the reason why she didn't care so much when Fugaku hadn't acted even just a little like a father figure. Perhaps that was why it had been so easy to ignore the whole family after the painting incident.

To some extent she hadn't fully comprehended that this was _real_ now, this was _her_ world, people here could feel pain and that this was their lives.

Those tiny, weeping kids shoved outside into the biting cold weren't just characters drawn to pull at the hearts of TV watchers.

That girl, no more than four years old, would have felt every brutal contact she made with the sharp edges of the stairs that she was shoved down.

And that boy, who was just a tiny bit older, looked so _terrified_ of the large woman coming in brandishing a rolling pin that he was currently hyperventilating.

That was when Amaterasu Uchiha realised that, no matter what life she had before, no matter how she had viewed this world in that life, this was her universe now and for some reason she had been given another chance to live. That chance meant she could change things, she wasn't just a spectator watching behind a screen. She _was_ going to change things because she had somehow been gifted with knowledge that no one else had in this world. She was going to stand by what she thought was right, and she wasn't going to waste this _gift_.

"It was me."

The woman's advance on the young child stopped and the whimpers lessened.

 _It's changing, Ama._

"What did yer say, brat?" she asked quietly, the type of quiet that was often used to make children more unsure with themselves, more intimidated.

Shame for this woman she wasn't a child.

"I said, it was me. Gee, is your hearing getting worse already auntie? I heard that's one of the first signs of ageing you know?" the raven haired girl told her cheerfully, observing the woman's face slowly reddening in fury. "I'm sorry about the mess in your kitchen auntie, I really am. I'm just too clumsy. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"An' _how,"_ she spat, "are yer plannin' on doin' tha'?"

While the woman's attention was focused on herself, Ama caught the little boy's shocked gaze and meaningfully glanced towards the door.

"I can clear up this mess by tomorrow?" she tried hopefully, watching the boy tiptoe out of the kitchen in the corner of her eye.

"Yer think that'll be enough? You lil' kids _never learn._ " she roared right in her face and Ama tried very hard not to gag at the smell of the garlic and onion that she had undoubtedly had for dinner.

"I'll take your delivery around the compound tomorrow! For the next week! For the next _month_!" she tried once more, acting more and more scared the further the woman advanced.

The woman stopped, a grin leering on her face. Ama's heart dropped at that expression.

"Alrigh' lil' twit. Every day for a month yer'll be deliverin' to _anywhere_ I want you to or I'll thump ya into next month, ya got it?" she snarled and Ama nodded. Thanks to that she got away with only a sharp kick to the back that sent her tumbling out of the kitchen.

The head caretaker was called Tami and she was quite the baker. She ran a delivery service around the Uchiha compound, and received many orders for her goods.

The slight problem with this was that the food smelled _so good_ , and it didn't help that she was constantly hungry. She was given a small trolley to carry the food in, but good Lord the temptation was so great. She was eyeing one particularly tasty looking dango set as she loaded them into the trolley when thankfully a voice snatched her from her thoughts.

"The o-other guy went m-mi-missing after eating o-one."

Ama turned to see the boy she let escape yesterday sitting on the stairs. With a twinge in her heart, she noticed how he was sporting a new bruise on his pale cheek.

"What do you mean 'went missing'?" she asked curiously while continuing to load the goods. When she didn't hear an answer she looked over to see that the boy's lower lip was trembling.

"Anyway, I don't blame him." she continued hurriedly. "That crazy lady is nuts but she sure can cook." she said with a sigh as she tried to knot the top flap of the trolley correctly before giving up. The quiet boy watched her with large brown eyes and her heart clenched at just how _thin_ he was.

"Y-you arrived quite re-recently, right?" he mumbled, getting up and deftly tying the knot with surprising ease.

"Mhm. Two weeks ago. Thanks." she said with a small smile. "How old are you?"

"Five." he murmured. That explained why he was quite a bit bigger than her even if he was stick thin. She soon learnt that his name was Arata while he accompanied her to the rusty orphanage gates and that he'd been here since he was three.

"W-what do you want?" he suddenly asked when they reached the exit. She glanced at him, startled, and at her confused expression he frowned.

"...for helping me." he told her quietly and she grinned cheerily, reaching up to pat his shoulder.

"See ya later, Arata." she waved before turning her back to set off down the empty, dusty street and leaving the poor boy confused, awed and scared all at the same time.

* * *

 **Hello! It's me. I was wondering if after all these years -**

 **...ok never mind. That song is still plaguing my mind and I love it.**

 **What do you think of Ama-chan so far? Did you expect an awful Uchiha orphanage? The idea just came to me and it'll hopefully tie in really well with what I have planned in the future (remember Obito anyone?) but if anyone gets it now I'd be very surprised haha.**

 **Leave something to say you've been!**

 **Lei xx**

 **EDIT 22/10/16**


	3. Three

Arata Uchiha had never felt so puzzled in his entire life. The girl had set off once again on the delivery that morning for the eighth time or so, and still hadn't told him _why._

Why did she help him? Why was she still helping him, going on all those deliveries by herself - even though the trolley dwarfed her size and she was getting shouted at for not doing it fast enough? She hadn't even been in the room when he had dropped the flour and made a huge mess all over the kitchen counters, and yet she had taken the blame.

It didn't make sense to him _at all_. If he had learnt anything from his time there it was that everyone did things for their own good and if you didn't watch out for yourself you were the one that would suffer instead.

Judging from her actions she was either very smart or incredibly stupid.

...He was definitely leaning towards the latter he decided, as he watched her pour her rations into the child next to her's bowl at dinner. By the time said child had realised the sudden increase of food in surprise she was already gone, zipping through the crowded kitchen to clean her now empty bowl.

Arata slurped as much of his own as possible before he was shoved aside and it was taken, and then followed the girl out.

"Why?" he asked immediately after joining her outside. She looked up at him in surprise.

"You seem to be asking that a lot." she told him rather dryly, returning to the writing she was doing in the dirt.

"Why do you help?" he struggled to find the words before blurting, "Why are you so different?"

She stiffened slightly before sighing.

"I'm not any different to anyone else here, Arata. I'm just selfish in another way." she said rather quietly. She then chuckled tonelessly. "I'm much worse than them if you think I'm helping. I'm not really making any sense to you, am I?"

No, she definitely was not, and Arata did not understand.

* * *

Fugaku rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn for the third time during the meeting, hoping that it would go unnoticed. Of course, in a room of high ranking ninjas in the room, it wasn't.

"Fugaku-sama, if you are weary we can postpone this matter."

The protest died in his throat as he looked around at the table, observing the bored clan members looking back at him with well-concealed hopefulness. He nodded, calling an end to the meeting.

Although Fugaku returned home last night he hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep, and while he blamed it primarily on the current raging war he knew it wasn't the only reason.

The real reason was much smaller and had his best friend/teammate's ebony irises framed by long, thick lashes and curly raven-coloured hair. Although this child, _Amaterasu_ , was an offspring of the person who had saved his life countless times, and who he considered a sister, he couldn't and wouldn't ever acknowledge that fact.

That child was a demon.

During her pregnancy, his friend's health had deteriorated drastically the longer said child had grown inside her. No medic had understood why, considering she had had a perfectly healthy pregnancy four years ago, and it was only after the birth of the child and the death of the mother that they realised what had happened.

The child had been sucking the chakra of her mother to form its own advanced chakra pathways while still in the womb and, as a result, the poor woman had been continuously depleted of chakra every day for the last three months of her pregnancy - it was no wonder she had passed. From Tsunade-sama's explanation Fugaku understood that, normally, advanced chakra pathways began to develop around age three and depended on the maturity of the mind. Somehow the child's mind had matured exponentially faster than its body and so used its mother's chakra to compensate for the lack of chakra it was generating by itself.

The child had shown signs of being abnormally smart for her age, developing very quickly through the milestones of moving and talking.

But no one had ever seen this kind of case before and Fugaku had directed all his grief towards said abnormal child. He _hated_ it. It had caused so much pain and suffering to his teammate and what was worse was that it looked _so much_ like her. What was _sick_ was that his friend had died _loving_ the thing that had inevitably murdered her for its own survival.

A demon with _her_ eyes.

Shinobi do not use the word 'friend' lightly. Once you consider someone a friend the bonds you create with them can be so strong that you start caring more for their life than your own. This was the case for Fugaku, Amaterasu's mother had been his friend, first and foremost, and she had helped him through many hard times - if he could have he would have replaced her death with his in a heartbeat.

If it had been an enemy jutsu, he would have made sure he had been the one to receive the finishing blow.

If it had been a trap, he would have performed a substitution jutsu on her to _make sure she was okay._

But no, she had been ripped away from him by her own child.

What was worse was that Fugaku had to house _**it**_ for the first two years of its life as the father, Kagami Uchiha, had died protecting his son on the battlefronts against Iwa. The child was abnormal, always wanting to hear people's voices, and her eyes, oh kami her eyes. They were filled with a strangely _knowing, calculating_ gaze that focused on you for far too long to be accidental. It wasn't **normal.** Every time he looked at it...her... he couldn't help but just keep being reminded that she was _her_ offspring.

And now that he had finally gotten the damn child out of his house and into the clan orphanage, for some reason, his heart was faltering.

What was keeping him up at night was that his friend's firstborn, Shisui Uchiha, didn't even know that he had a sister. After the death of his parents the six-year-old had thrown himself into his clan training more ferociously than before and, as he was already a genin, he was able to claim rights to his own apartment. For the last two years Fugaku had only heard about him. By the end of the first year both his teammates had died during a sabotaged scouting mission and so he had been granted a year of mentored training from his jounin instructor outside the village walls. The boy was already living up to the standards of being named a 'genius' and last the clan head had heard was that he was coming back within the next week or so to return to active duty in the village.

"That's great." his wife had said, sagging with relief. Fugaku had noted the dark circles under her eyes with concern. "Now Ama can get out of that orphanage."

The child had also wedged a harsh line between him and Mikoto. She was convinced that it wasn't the child's fault while he had furiously retorted that someone was to blame for the death of his teammate. That awful redheaded friend of Mikoto's also caused a lot of trouble, following him around angrily and shouting in vulgar protest at the movement of the child, coming pretty close to physical blows before she was removed.

She didn't understand.

"If you don't want to view her as your _best friend's_ child then look at her as she is, a child, a _baby!_ You're a parent too Fugu-bastard! You said you considered her a _sister!_ Then tell me how, just _**how**_ can you do that to your _sister's child_ you absolute piece of shit?! You think she'd be _happy_ you're treating her like this?"

But it _wasn't_ a child, not in his view. He didn't care if she was happy because she was dead. She couldn't be happy, even if she wanted to.

Fugaku realised his feet had taken him to the centre of the Uchiha compound, where the shops were rapidly closing down at this time in the evening. The sun was almost fully set, sending hues of crimson across the sky. He sighed, directing his thoughts to another problem as his eyes become unfocused once more.

The orphanage.

It had been a cruel, cruel method of dealing with parentless children set up way back when the Uchiha were on their own. In those times it had been well suited to what they needed - survival of the fittest and cold-hearted, selfish killers. The people in charge of the Uchiha at the time must have thought that, if you were at the orphanage, you were weak offspring as your parents hadn't been strong enough to survive. The only way an orphan would be able to gain some proper training would be to squash all those around him and prove that he was the strongest there.

No one had bothered to change the system so far. All the previous clan heads were probably content with the fact that, while it wasn't taking up much of the clan's budget, it produced some able academy students that were strong enough to cause fear of the Uchiha with their brusque tactics of overwhelming smaller opponents.

Fugaku _knew_ that those sort either died early during war or remained, at most, genin for their whole careers with that mindset.

He _knew_ he had to do something about it.

But he couldn't. Not now. It would have to wait until the war finished.

The clan head paused in his walk as a small figure approached pushing a relatively large trolley. He watched as it knocked on the door of one of the shops, waiting for door to be opened by a man who looked fairly well off.

"Ah, there you are. Do you have the goods?" he asked, making Fugaku frown. That sounded fairly suspicious and, unknowingly, he reached for his kunai pouch.

The small one didn't say anything but reached into the trolley and pulled out a packet of ... dango?

"Lovely. Thank you my dear, here's the money. Don't be out too late, alright? It's very chilly. Send my regards to Tami."

After that, he promptly shut the door and the figure moved on. It seemed to notice him just standing there though and paused.

"Would you like something shinobi-san?" they asked in surprisingly high voice. Fugaku approached, and his heart dropped when he recognised her.

She was much smaller than he remembered. Her shirt and pants were not only tattered and dirty but also too big for her, while the cloak she had draped over her small frame did not seem to be doing well at keeping the cold away. Her sandals were ripped and her feet were covered in a layer of mud, with dirt dotting her face along with a green bruise on her forehead.

How long had it been, a month? Maybe two? since she had left his house, and now she seemed like a completely different child.

 _Like an orphan_ , he realised, and the severity of the situation hit him like being struck by lightning. He caught the gaze of her curious large eyes and pain shot through his heart.

"A-ama." he whispered softly at her unwavering stare. He expected her to recognise him, beg him to take her back or to cry or do something but she remained still.

"Is Miko okay?" she asked simply, looking so _tired._ "How's 'Tachi doing?"

Instead of answering, he replied with, "Your brother will be home soon.", and he didn't know why. What he wanted to say was _I'm sorry, please forgive me, it's my fault, I'll fix this._

"I don't have a brother." she told him patiently and he crouched so that he was closer to her eye-level, trying to ignore the smell that was undoubtedly oozing off her.

"You do. His name is Shisui and he'll take care of you. He'll take you away from that place, okay?" he said, and even to him his voice sounded detached.

 _I'm sorry._

"I don't have a brother." she repeated. "Tori's the only one who has a brother and he's always there. He protects her from everything bad and hits everything he thinks might hurt her."

"Your brother will protect you."

 _Please forgive me_

She continued, her voice becoming progressively colder.

"If I had a brother," her ebony eyes - _**her**_ eyes - glinted dangerously, "he'd have protected me from you."

There was a long silence during which he felt her scathing gaze and nothing occurred to him at that time other than _you're right, you're right, you're absolutely right._

"You'll understand someday."

 _It's my fault._

"I'm not so sure."

She was so clever, so intelligent, and he had ignored it. The sheer stupidity of his way of viewing her during the last two years whacked him in the face with those simple words. He had been so ridiculously short-sighted and it was this that made this child, his _teammate's_ child, basically his own _niece_ , suffer. He couldn't even begin to imagine the lives of those children without parents, growing up all alone in the environment of the orphanage.

 _ **She**_ would be ashamed of who he had become.

"Miko is fine and so is 'Tachi. Wait for your brother." he choked out before promptly body flickering away.

 _I'll fix this._

* * *

The surprise meeting with the Uchiha clan head went better than she could have ever dreamed. Amaterasu had planned from the beginning to use the guilt card but never expected it to work this well. She surveyed the builders working on the run down building contentedly, sitting on the lap of one of the new caretakers that had been assigned the week after that meeting. That witch Tami had disappeared and they no longer had to do chores but instead were taught how to read and write, much like homeschooling. The atmosphere of the orphanage had taken a very drastic turn and the orphans had been overwhelmed but were undoubtedly much, much happier. The bullying behaviour was sharply discouraged and Ama knew that even within a month the orphans would be able to create bonds and be part of a new family together in this environment.

A warm feeling pooled in her stomach at the pleasant thought that _she_ had done this. Of course, it probably would have happened without her existence but she had most definitely sped it up. Now that she thought about it, her idea had been quite idealistic.

She had eaten as little as she could and done those backbreaking deliveries, hadn't fought for clean water to wash in and had gotten herself into enough trouble to get hit a couple times, but not too hard. If she hadn't been trying to she wouldn't have lost that much weight. She wanted to create this image of herself so that one day, when she eventually met one of the family that had taken care of her, she'd act accordingly and essentially try to make them feel as guilty as possible. Because she knew they were powerful. She knew if anyone could have done anything, it would have been them.

She had been tactful enough to make sure to do it so that the orphanage would be changed and not just her being taken out of it and, coincidentally, meeting Fugaku that night had really been great luck. She could tell that the poor guy already blamed himself and felt guilty but she liked to think that she gave him that little push he needed to fix what things he could in his position. Obviously, it had worked.

"Can you read this for me, Ama-chan?" the woman she was sitting on enquired.

"No, you read." Ama ordered instead, closing her eyes and relaxing against the woman's front, ignoring the chuckling that followed. She drifted off to the thoughts of having Shisui as a brother as the woman's soothing voice entered her ears, and decided her pedigree was a good one. Keeping close to Shisui meant she was close to Itachi and therefore it would probably be easier to make changes to her future as it stood now: being murdered along with the rest of the clan before she even made it to her teenage years.

Either way, for now she was content. She had made a good start.

* * *

 **Thank you for such an amazing response to this story! I'm sorry to those who though** _ **Extrapolation**_ **was better, hopefully** _ **Life's a Game**_ **will grow on you! I loved all your reviews, and it's been great to check my email for the last 24 hours, so thank you for all the follows and the favourites!**

 **I hope it lives up to your standards. If it doesn't, that's fine too, I'm a growing writer, so please tell me where I'm lacking!**

 **I really wanted to make the point that Amaterasu is in no way a hero figure. She took the punishment for Arata because that was when she realised she could do something, and the punishment was something she had wanted to do in the first place anyway so it wasn't really self sacrifice. I also want to make it clear that she is very smart - she understands people, since she's a doctor and has undoubtedly had experience in the field of psychology (more on this coming soon)! Also, she's a grown woman looking at starving children, and she's seemed to have forgotten that she's also in a starving child's body, hence why she thought it was okay for her to be negligent to herself. Don't worry, all that's coming back to bite her in the ass later, look forward to the next update!**

 **Lei xx**

 **EDIT 22/10/16**


	4. Four

" _Wait for your brother_ , he said. _He'll be coming soon_ , he said." a small raven-haired child muttered scornfully under her breath as she ended her weekly visit to the village library, struggling under the weight of four thick books that piled up to just under her eyes. The villagers bustling around at that time had gotten used to her now and no longer shot curious gazes at the tiny clan girl trotting around alone in the village centre. They probably found paying more attention to avoiding the burning rays of the morning sun more beneficial. It was summer now after all but the newfound heat was nothing but a bitter reminder to her that a _whole year and a half_ had passed since the refurbishment of the orphanage and still not a sign of her supposed brother.

Amaterasu Uchiha found herself quite irritated as the thought resurfaced once again. She had hoped her brother would show himself to her in a month _at best_ but he hadn't and she _knew_ he was back in the village since she had checked with the Uchiha administrative office and they had hesitantly confirmed to the three-year-old that yes, Shisui Uchiha was on the list for active duty but no, he hadn't been given a mission for a while.

The thirty-one-year-old in a three-year-old's body fumed as she plopped herself down in the shade of the small training ground that she usually occupied at this time. _So that little brat just decided 'No, he didn't like the thought of a sister, oh never mind, he'd just pretend she doesn't exist.'_

The girl's mind became bored again very quickly after the refurbishment of the orphanage and now spent the both of the two days a week they were allowed in the village doing exactly what she was doing now, reading. Sometimes she'd be able to spend the day with Kushina but outings with the redhead had recently become rather scarce for some reason. She presumed it had something to do with the war.

Ama had thrown herself into more information gathering about this world after her living conditions improved and had blazed through the newly stocked orphanage library in a day…which wasn't saying much because it consisted of six picture story books and two very simplified notes on the concepts of chakra and the Sharingan. They had been pretty useless considering the amount of knowledge she had on those topics in the first place. Therefore she naturally looked to the next source of books that she had accidentally caught sight of on one of the outings with Kushina.

The village library had a whole floor dedicated to a very well endowed shinobi section and, understandably, civilians were not granted access to it. Only someone with a Konoha forehead protector, which could only be gained by graduating from the academy, was allowed past the genjutsu layer covering the entrance, manned by a sleepy looking guard. If they had forgotten their forehead protector they could prove their ninja rank by simply breaking the genjutsu. The first few times she had tried to get in the guard did not look at all amused by her size, her lack of forehead protector and lack of any genjutsu breaking capabilities whatsoever.

"I'm three, do you really expect me to know how to do that?" she had retorted rather testily at his raised eyebrow. The heat behind her words had a considerably smaller effect when they were said in a high-pitched voice with a lisp, she winced internally.

"You're three, tell me a good reason why you want to go to a room filled with books in the first place. Go out and play." the guard had replied in his slow, irritating voice of his.

Eventually she had worn him down, visiting once every three days to spend two hours trying to prove to him why it wouldn't be a big problem to let her in. She even started to wear the standardised clan clothing with the proud Uchiha crest sewed onto the back to prove that she was undoubtedly going to become a kunoichi sometime in the near future. When the guard finally gave in he gave her a very impressive stink-eye and a low sigh of, "Not like you're going to understand anything in there anyway but as long as you stop annoying me, brat." and "Don't you clan people all have libraries of your own? Go there!"

She had a much smaller problem getting the actual librarian to use the account of 'Shisui Uchiha' to loan her the books she wanted. Probably because the girl had put on an act to showcase the age she looked like, blinking her large eyes and fidgeting nervously as she mumbled, "My brother didn't want to walk all the way here so he sent me."

Cue pitiful gaze, a warm pat on the head, sometimes a bitter ginseng sweet, and the books she wanted.

Ama didn't like to use her age to her advantage that often, probably because it felt weird, and because most of the adults she knew were already used to her quietness and unusually strong hunger to learn. The new caretakers understood she didn't want to be coddled and it was routine for them to amusedly console the visitors who looked taken aback (and rather offended) at the smooth way the child would turn away and ignore them when they cooed at her. Aside from them Kushina had also most definitely accepted her advanced intelligence with a bright grin and heartily answered any question the girl had come across while reading her books.

Speaking of which, throughout the whole year she had never left the section in the shinobi library titled 'Chakra'. As someone who had previously been very knowledgeable on what everything in the body was and how it all worked the concept of having a 'flow of energy' in the body, capable of doing many extraordinary things, was very alien to her.

The more she understood it however the more it absolutely _fascinated_ her. It turned out that all people in this universe formed chakra pathways but most people didn't know how to utilise them. These were channels that allowed the flow of energy (chakra) to reach all parts of the body and developed once chakra started to be produced within the "chakra coils" that mainly surround and connect to each chakra-producing organ. Interestingly, what triggered the formation of chakra in the first place depended on _how much_ the mind _knew of_ this energy. The pathways included little 'exits' of a sort that allowed chakra to be expelled out of the body, called tenketsu. Apparently most shinobi, jōnin included, could only release chakra from the tenketsu present on their hands and feet, which is what made members of the Hyūga clan special, considering that they could release chakra from all of them and have created jutsu such as the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to take advantage of this. (She wanted to look more into how the Hyuuga blocked these things with a jab from their own chakra too. Were they like valves? How do you open something like that?)

This certainly explained why clan children had such an advantage when learning the shinobi arts. Simply put, the reason why clan children started producing their chakra faster than civilian children was because clan children became used to the idea of jutsu and this energy much earlier (as practically all family were ninja), and so their bodies understood that it was okay to start making said energy. This therefore meant that clan children would form their chakra pathways faster and would be able to start learning how to mould their chakra much faster than a civilian child. One of the scrolls stated that the average clan child would start to produce chakra around the age of three, while the average civilian child would start to produce it around the age of five.

Why did this matter?

Well firstly because it was interesting to understand from an academic's point of view, making Amaterasu feel ridiculously satisfied with herself, and secondly because, if this was true, it affected her own body as well.

Specifically for Amaterasu, who's mind was much more mature due to her previous life, and had already technically 'known' about the 'existence' of the concept of chakra (due to a freaking TV show), her chakra pathways should _technically_ have already developed and she should _technically_ already be able to use it, despite only being three years old.

This revelation brought her to the present, where she had gathered books on early chakra control techniques and was currently quite a lot more excited than she would like to admit to try them out. Of course, something nagged in the back of her mind about how this should probably be happening under supervision, to possibly wait until Kushina's next free...naturally it was tuned out. Spiritual energy was also an interesting concept for her as it is derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation and experience - which she already had almost thirty years more of.

The short girl lay on her front, flicking through the large book thoughtfully with excitement buzzing within her. She was so engrossed with this topic that she completely missed and absolutely did not anticipate what happened next.

When she next blinked and looked up, due to a slight movement in the corner of her eye, all she could see was the back of what she presumed was a boy. A boy wearing a black shirt and shorts, quite unsuited for the blinding sun, she thought absentmindedly.

She tilted her head and was surprised to see that this boy was blocking a kunai with one of his own and, to her eyes, both the boy and the assaulter seemed perfectly still.

A few moments had passed since their arrival and they still hadn't moved so Ama shifted, pushing herself into a sitting position. What she saw then surprised her.

A rather young looking, around fifteen she guessed, silver haired Kakashi Hatake was currently locked in a staring match with the boy in front of her and what worried her was that his red eye was out and spinning.

With a twinge she remembered that she hadn't been born in time to affect Obito's demise.

"Uhm." she started hesitantly, trying to get their attention, and their reaction was immediate. If she had blinked again she'd have missed it. The boy in front of her lashed out in a swift kick and Kakashi leapt backwards with such speed she had trouble tracing him with her eyes. The boy in front of her hadn't faced her yet so she didn't really know who he was but now that the two were separated they seemed a lot less tense. Before she could say anything, however, the boy spoke.

"Sorry, senpai. You startled me."

The other one shrugged, looking rather nonchalant after that clash as he dusted imaginary dirt off his navy trousers.

"It's fine. Good luck." was all he said before he was suddenly not there anymore.

...

Did he really just disappear? Amaterasu blinked rapidly, seeing if the light was playing a trick on her but no, ninjas could actually just disappear. Into thin air. It was weird, she saw it in the anime so many times but seeing it happen right in front of her was just... weird. Unnatural. Speaking of which, they were also _completely_ silent in their movements.

This is normal now, she told her rapidly beating heart quickly as what happened finally caught up to her. She blinked again to see a face looming in her vision and yelped, throwing herself back and slamming her head into the tree trunk behind her.

The unflattering and so not cool 'oww' that escaped her was most definitely not the best first impression she could have made.

"...Are you alright?"

She glared up at the boy with one eye scrunched up at the pain and promptly blanched. Black unruly curly hair, long lashes, black eyes...basically like a lot of other Uchiha but **she knew** this one.

This was Shisui Uchiha. Her brother. The asshole.

"Where have you been? You're late." she told him exasperatedly while rubbing at the sore spot on the back of her head. He stared at her, face blank of emotion, and she found it really disconcerting to look at. How old was he, eight? Nine maybe?

"Sorry?"

To the hesitantly uttered question, she rolled her eyes before shutting her open book and slamming it back onto the pile before sitting down again by the tree, scrutinising him closely. It gave her time to think about how to proceed with this unexpected conversation at least.

"Shisui, right? Can I call you nii-san right away or would that be weird cause you don't really know me as a sister? Oh, since you're here now I don't have to live in the orphanage right? I mean, it's really nice now and all but I'd much rather stay with you, you can tell me stuff right? Tori has a nii-san and he's _always_ with her and helping her and stuff but..."

...So much for thinking carefully about what she was going to say. On and on she rambled and she thought she made it to a whole minute before he interrupted with a slow, "How do you know who I am?"

She glanced at him and was glad to find that he looked a tad less tense than before but a lot more perplexed.

"Fugaku told me and then because you weren't coming to see me I asked for you at the administration's office."

He frowned and it looked so wrong on the boy's face. She wanted to smooth over the deep creases between his brows that had undoubtedly built up over his (short) years.

"So he _did_ tell you I existed, why didn't you come and pick me up? I was kinda -" she watched him as his eyes widened slightly in panic at her wobbly voice.

"-angry. You suck, you know that?" she finished simply, looking up at him honestly. "Brothers are supposed to protect their sisters, you know." she continued, strangely feeling slightly emotional if she were to be honest.

He was silent for a bit, observing her, before suddenly plopping down in front of her, seeming a bit too overwhelmed to be standing in this situation.

"This wasn't how I imagined our first meeting to go." he said rather tiredly.

"Sorry to disappoint." Ama shot back snarkily, receiving a mildly dry look back.

"Did you not see the kunai coming at you?" he asked suddenly, surprising her.

"What kunai?" she blinked.

"The one Hatake-senpai, threw in your direction from the other training ground by accident. Did you not even sense it? It was charged with his lightning chakra and you would've - " he said, obviously becoming more and more agitated the more clueless he realised she was. To be honest, she was rather confused at herself too. She had had _absolutely_ no idea. Did she not even have instinct? "Can you tell me what you think happened?" Shisui enquired, a bit softer this time.

"Well you both suddenly appeared and after a bit you tried to kick him and failed, you talked, he disappeared." she told him truthfully, rather unsure she deserved the response she garnered. His face fell into his hands and he rubbed at it furiously before swiping his hair and forehead protector back so his hair was now all pointy.

She couldn't help it, she giggled, and was rewarded with a small smile.

"So you missed all the genjutsu as well?"

What. That was why they had been in a standstill? Kakashi must have followed his kunai to catch it and didn't expect Shisui to have come out. Speaking of which...

"Maa, nii-san. Have you been stalking me?" she asked, and suppressed a smirk at the fleeting glance of his flustered expression.

"What? B-brothers protect their imoutos." he said immediately, and Ama felt a warm feeling blossom through her chest.

" _We're going to be the best nii-san and imouto in the whole village!_ " she shrieked after a small pause, acting like her age with the wrong grammar, flailing arm movements and the hug that she forced onto the boy opposite her.

She happily noted that the initial stiffening melted away after a few moments and strangely felt like the year and a half of waiting had completely been worth it.

He had been watching over her and he had cared after all.

What was equally strange? She knew she was going to be a heck of an overprotective little sister too.

* * *

Shisui Uchiha realised very quickly that directly interacting with his… _sister_ …didn't make her any less of an enigma than when he had been watching her from afar. She just continued to confuse him and he couldn't help but be so unbelievably _awkward_ with her.

He thought he was good with little children... but she didn't really seem like a little child.

"How did you find out?" said girl asked, breaking the long silence that had followed them since they left the shaved ice stall. They were sucking contently on their treats, since Shisui had taken her to the place that his sensei frequently treated him to after training, noting she chose the same flavour as he did - blueberry. The books that the girl - Imouto - had borrowed were sealed into the small storage scroll he always carried around and they were now sitting in a small clearing on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound.

"Mmh?" he murmured absentmindedly, trying hard to stop staring at the little girl who was now sitting so close to him. He had only observed her from afar and it felt quite surreal to be able to walk next to her, _his blood-related little sister_ , normally like any other sibling in the village. He could see the resemblance to his parents, her eyes were shaped like his mother's and she had evidently inherited his father's prominent facial bone structure, which was still visible even under the layer of baby fat lining her cheeks.

"How did Fugu tell you I existed? I doubt he dropped the bomb lightly." she commented conversationally and the older boy found himself aghast at not the first but _second_ time she casually spoke of the clan head.

"Don't call him that!" he scolded and she looked up at him in surprise. "He's the clan head, you can't address him like that. It's either Fugaku-sama or Uchiha-sama."

"Hmm." she simply said thoughtfully. "So you were okay with him keeping me away from you for two years?"

Shisui had no idea how she had come to that conclusion.

"What makes you think that?" he retorted, hesitantly meeting her curious gaze.

"You obviously still hold a high respect for him."

Shisui shook his head. "That's simple etiquette, Amaterasu." he ignored the awkward way the name rolled off his tongue, before adding, "No matter how much he's wronged us he's still the honourable leader of our clan and deserves to be addressed as such."

"So you weren't okay with it. You're still not and I don't think you believe you ever will forgive him for it."

Shisui strangely felt like he was being counselled - she was sounding like the Yamanaka that had talked with him after his teammates' deaths.

"Of course it wasn't okay for him to keep that from me, you're my sister and the fact that he didn't give me a proper reason for his actions made me feel…"

She waited patiently at his pause as he organised his thoughts.

"…made me think that the real reason wasn't one that I'd agree with."

She slowly nodded, processing this before spouting out another question.

"Can you tell me what you felt when he told you?"

Shisui paused then, directing his gaze into the distance. If he squinted he could see the workers still carving the new head statue of Minato Namikaze, who had been named the Fourth Hokage after the ending of the war a few weeks ago.

 _What he felt?_ he mused. What a curious question. Why did it matter what he felt? Perhaps it was his career as a shinobi that made him regard the question as so alien. He had most definitely tried his hardest to _not_ think about how he felt at many points in his life: the death of his teammates, his first kill, watching the death of his father, finding out his mother had died at home while he was away - but these were all very negative things, he pondered. Maybe it would be alright to go through his emotions and _feel_ properly at the one pleasant surprise of an _extra_ life on his hands.

"I thought I was completely alone when my… _our_ parents passed." he voiced tentatively. "Knowing that you survived would probably have made me a lot less reckless with training and missions and stuff but maybe that would mean I wouldn't be as strong and as able to protect as I am now."

He glanced at her, slightly embarrassed at the way he was talking, but she was listening attentively, eyes never leaving his form. For some reason he was feeling like a certain weight was gradually lifting off his chest. Someone was listening to him talk and it felt like he mattered, past being a genius, past being a good ally to have in battle. He let the words flow from his mouth, much faster now.

"But I could tell Fugaku-sama wasn't being truthful. He said that he hadn't told me about you because it would have distracted me from training and that it had been for my own good, but he kept _apologising_ to me. He wouldn't apologise if he hadn't done anything wrong so he obviously must have done _something_ bad, you know?" he noted the corner of her lips tilting upwards into a soft smile that was strangely understanding.

"So while I still respect him and all, I feel angry."

The word that escaped him wasn't what he had been expecting and his eyes widened.

"I was angry. I still am." he realised. "You had to stay in the orphanage, and even if it is a lot better than before I could have helped you. We wouldn't have been alone. We wouldn't be so awkward now, we've missed out on three years and that's a lot. I mean, you don't know me. At all. I'm a complete stranger to you but we're supposed to be family. _"_

"Is that what stopped you from approaching me?"

"I - well… yes." he admitted finally in a weary sigh. He just hadn't known how to approach her. He had been content with just watching over her from afar but he guessed a year and a half was a rather long time to be stalking.

"But you're right you know." she said lightly, eyes crinkling into a sweet smile. "We are family, and we can catch up on those three years, no problem. Sure, Fugaku… _sama_ made a mistake that's cost us our relationship but I don't think keeping that sort of anger in will be beneficial to anyone. He's human too."

She reached out a hand, palm faced up and looked at him expectantly. When he slowly clasped her small hand in his she continued.

"I don't know about you but I'm really glad I've met you now. Thanks for existing nii-san!"

He cracked a grin.

"You too imouto."

He was glad to say that any awkwardness between them diminished greatly after that conversation.

* * *

 **I** **t is now currently 03:40 where I am, I just wanted to get this to you before I went to bed! Hope you enjoy it, Shisui is in the picture now (he tto cayoote!). IF you didn't understand my idea about how chakra works, please don't hesitate to ask! I will happily explain it and edit it so it's more understandable.**

 **That of course stands for anything else that you don't think makes sense!**

 **tbh I might end up rewriting some of it depending on your reactions and my own read through in the morning - I usually don't function after 4 in the afternoon so... hehe**

 **Seeya! Look forward to the next update!**

 **Lei xx**

 **EDIT 22/10/16**


	5. Five

Amaterasu stared at the bundle in her former foster mother's arms, heart rate increasing rapidly. It had been a month since she moved in with Shisui and they had bumped into the Uchiha matriarch on the way home from the training grounds.

Mikoto's mouth was moving, Shisui looking politely thrilled, but she could only hear her pulse slamming in her ears.

Sasuke was born. Already.

 _ **Sasuke**_ _._

The name brought such sheer shock that it cleared her mind of all thoughts so that she simply heard white noise, her vision became blurry - until a hand on her shoulder broke her out of her daze.

"Super cute." she said quickly. "Really tiny. Looks just like you. Sorry to cut this short, I gotta go, bye!"

With that she sprinted away, leaving her brother - _blood dripping like tears and his eyes were just not there_ \- and Mikoto - _We already know...Itachi_ \- and the newborn behind, probably very confused. Her thoughts meanwhile whirred into overdrive.

Sasuke was born, it was nearing the end of July now, and from her memory Naruto had been born on the tenth of October of that very same year _._ That gave her, what, two months and a bit to work out how to stop Obito from appearing and the Kyuubi being released and the Uchiha being blamed and ... _**shit.**_

"Ama?"

She jerked at her name to see Itachi staring rather worriedly at her and flinched as another series of images flashed through her mind.

 _Glint of a sword, spray of blood, a mere thirteen year old struggling under the weight of the world, he was just a child just crying, blood, red, Sharingan, tears, crying, oh god that was his parents, crying, crying -_

 _"_ Oh hi Itachi-sama! Fancy seeing you here!"

Good Lord, was that her voice? It sounded too shrill. Judging from Itachi's wince, he thought so too.

"Actually, you were just standing in the middle of the street. Are you alright?"

No my poor darling, are _you?_

Ama shook her head rapidly, trying the clear the images and waved at him.

"Bye!"

She turned, got as far as taking one step, then promptly blacked out.

* * *

 _"...they said nothing was really wrong - vitals all in check, she should be waking up soon."_

 _"Something must have spooked her, I have no idea why she had such a reaction to little Sasuke."_

"Nggh."

The reaction was immediate to the little groan. A hand was placed on her leg, another hovered by her shoulder, and the arm wrapped around her tightened.

"Su-chan, are you alright?"

There was only one person who recently began to call her Su, and when Ama opened her eyes she was greeted by the grey-violet eyes of the redheaded jinchuriki. Ama was considerably calmer now and managed to suppress the influx of vivid memories, simply leaning into the woman's hold with a small sigh. She was quickly scooped up and placed on another person's lap and she recognised the scent as the comforting pine of her brother.

"You gave us all a scare Ama-chan." he told her and she smiled weakly at him, squashing down more pictures in her mind. - _his eyes were still in their sockets -_ "Especially poor Itachi-kun."

"Sorry." she said tiredly, shooting an apologetic look at said Uchiha who was standing stoically by her hospital bed before tucking her head under her brother's chin.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Kushina asked gently, rubbing her hand comfortingly, and Ama shook her head.

"I don't know what happened." she lied with a shrug. "I just felt really worried for no reason."

Another voice spoke up, making Amaterasu spin around so fast that she knocked her head on Shisui's chin, drawing a rather annoyed groan. She hadn't realised there had been another person in the room.

"I diagnose panic attack." the brown haired iryō-nin (Medical-nin) said. "Now, I'd like all visitors out while I converse with the patients."

"...Why are you a patient?" Ama asked Kushina who also stayed behind, dreading the answer that she knew would inevitably come. It did, in the form of a bright grin and a caress of her swollen abdomen. She was just about seven months pregnant, but she winked.

"It's a secret." Kushina whispered.

"Congratulations." the girl tried timidly, making the two women around her chuckled.

"I heard you've started working on your chakra control." the medic said sweetly, brushing a glowing hand over her abdomen, and Ama nodded. "Since you've been working with some sensing as well, I'd say it could have caused a bit of an overload once you stepped into a place with such an abundance of ninja as the Uchiha compound."

"How old are you Ama?" the medic asked after swiping her hand over her stomach once more.

"Three." Kushina answered for her. "Four in a few months."

The brunette locked eyes with her, communicating silently for a bit while she said something else to little girl. That was some pretty impressive multitasking.

"You have a lot of chakra for your age, don't you?"

"I dunno." Ama replied truthfully. She honestly didn't know. She didn't feel like she had a lot since she could only do the leaf concentration practice to improve her chakra control for a couple hours before feeling tired.

"You do. I'd say around a standard genin's supply already." The iryō-nin affirmed.

"That's a good thing." Kushina added lightly and Ama simply shrugged. She knew why she had advanced chakra levels already.

"I'd suggest using it a lot to keep the stores growing okay? Keep up the control work." the medic informed her and moved on. Ama ended up spending the rest of the day with Kushina, as Shisui had left to spend some time training with Itachi.

"You know the Hokage, don't you?" Ama asked her as they walked hand in hand out of the hospital.

"Of course I do, 'ttebane! He's my husband." the redhead informed her with a proud grin. Ama hummed in acknowledgement while quickly flicking through ideas in her mind.

Her first priority for October tenth was for it to end in a way that would _not_ leave the Uchiha being blamed. She needed to twist it so that it was the opposite of what happened in the anime. The main thing she had to try and do within the next few months was to cement Minato's relationship with Fugaku so that less misunderstandings brewed, perhaps then the way that the Uchiha felt towards the village would improve?

She quickly realised that she didn't know enough about the situation at the moment and decided she detested the fact that she had only been born three years ago. Her tiny body was not the only limitation - none of the ninja would tell her anything worth knowing because she was so small. She was totally useless, she decided, sighing and pressing a hand to her head as her temple throbbed.

"Are you alright Su-chan?" Kushina asked worriedly. Ama shook her head.

"I want to go to the library. Where did you plan on going?"

Kushina blinked. "I was going to practise some calligraphy with you, your neatness has really been improving lately and I wanted to teach you some things about layering them."

Ama felt her heart jump with excitement. Could it be?

"Like sealing?" she asked hopefully, and promptly wilted when she was met by a surprise guffaw.

"You have a _long_ way to go before that stuff, Su-chan. How do you know about that anyway?" Kushina chuckled, making Amaterasu sulk.

"I read about it. I'm going to the library, can I go with you to see the Hokage tomorrow?"

Kushina thought for a bit. "If you want to meet Minato you can join us for dinner if you want, maybe ask Shisui if you can sleep over."

Ama nodded at her and gave her a brief hug before splitting ways to go off towards the village library.

"Here _again?_ You were here yesterday! Weird brat." the guard grumbled before making a hand sign and letting the illusion wash away. Ama saluted him cheekily before trotting inside.

She paused as she surveyed the towering shelves of books in front of her, choosing to sit in a corner to just _think._

 _What could she do? Maybe she could tell someone what she knew?_ She winced.

She couldn't, she wouldn't. She'd be regarded as a threat at the very least, she understood that humans were naturally wary of knowledge. She had to work with the people in a more subtle way, manoeuvre them without them knowing.

Like chess.

She had a bit of time to set it up but Ama felt like punching herself for not realising this sooner. She had known that there would be between five and six years between Sasuke and Itachi, she could have prepared this for longer.

Pushing regrets aside, she tried to focus once more.

The reason why the Uchiha were blamed was because Obito had used the Sharingan to control the _Kyuubi (Nine-Tails)_. The reason why the Uchiha couldn't override it and try and control it themselves was because they weren't allowed to help with the fight against it. They had been tasked with keeping the civilians safe and escorting the young ones to the shelters.

And so, distrust bloomed. The village hated the Uchiha for not helping their defence against the Kyuubi despite holding the title of the Konoha Military Police but the Uchiha's hands had been tied. Even if they wanted to they had been ordered to stay put.

Who gave that order to stay put? If she could let the village, or at least Minato, have a bit more trust in her clan maybe they would be called in to help. She didn't remember anyone other than Madara and Obito being able to control the beast, and Sasuke to an extent, but there must be _someone_ who could - maybe Fugaku?

There was also the fact that the Uchiha clan felt like the village had confined them since they feared their power. In the end it was all a matter of trust. How did one go about increasing trust between a village and a clan?

There was also the thought of the _jinchūriki (Power of Human Sacrifice)_ as well... maybe if one of the Uchihas had been made into a jinchuriki they would feel more involved in the village's affairs?

Ama was slowly feeling the skeleton of a plan forming in her mind when someone suddenly took a seat beside her.

"Why does a little one like you look so troubled?" a smooth voice asked in a sigh. Ama felt a slight tingle of chakra from this man and, when she looked up at him, she didn't recognise his face: dirty blonde hair, green eyes... nope. She scrunched up her face confusedly. Why was he exerting chakra? It felt like...

"Shisui?"

The man stiffened minutely, before smirking.

"Hmm. No." he said dryly. "I don't look like him at all, what gave you that impression?"

 _Look like..._ Oh. She remembered now. This guy was using a henge - a transformation jutsu. That's why, instead of having his chakra stored in his abdomen and untraceable like a normal ninja, he was exerting it by spreading it outwards. She remembered getting used to the very slight pinging of Shisui's chakra when he showed the E-rank jutsu to her and she now she could recognise what it felt like.

"But I don't know what you really look like." she told him bluntly and was rewarded with a nod of approval before there was a puff of smoke.

Ama growled internally as she waved her arms furiously to bat it away. She knew the smoke wasn't necessary for the jutsu but it was used to provide a cover for the shift in appearance. It always irritated her eyes and throat. When she saw the real person she blinked, able to recognise the silver gravity defying hair anywhere.

"Hatake-senpai..." she thought aloud, glancing at him curiously. He was dressed in casual clothes, all black. She frowned. If she remembered correctly he had been tasked with protecting Kushina while she was pregnant. Perhaps she had gone to see Minato and didn't need to be looked over. It didn't explain why he was tailing her though.

"I'm definitely too old to be a senpai to you but I'm flattered you recognised me." he drawled, looking down at her lazily with one eye. It was a good cover, she admitted. He looked slouched, bored and unaware of anything, but she knew he probably had all the threats in the room located and had already planned how to deal with them if they surfaced. They sat in silence for a bit before he spoke again.

"You've been sitting here for a while now."

Okay. She was beginning to feel the awkward. So this was the genius' awful conversation skills.

"Yeah?" she tried. "Why are you here?" she asked, feeling ignored after not receiving a reply for a few minutes.

"I was tired of hiding." he eventually told her, making her raise an eyebrow. That sounded way too deep to be telling a three-year-old. Maybe he meant it literally but she could see the faraway look in his eyes that signalled he was already lost in thought. She had always sympathised with this guy, his life was rough for sure and, what was he? Fourteen? Fifteen? _Hiding from what? Responsibilities? Expectations? Painful memories, perhaps?_

"Has anyone told you you look like one of the greatest heroes in existence?" she said thoughtfully, noting with glee that his visible eye widened a fraction. She was beginning to learn how to read the slight facial expressions that ninja used to express their emotions from her time with Shisui. She had thought he was completely emotionless at first but it hadn't been the case at all, she just hadn't known what to look for.

"Oh?" he replied, sounding really uninterested, but she noticed the way his eye focused on her form.

"The White Fang. I read a book that mentioned him, he was really admirable." she murmured. She looked up to meet his gaze with a small smile. "Do you know him? He's my favourite."

He held her stare for a long time after that, seemingly searching for something, and his aloof demeanour disappeared.

"Only heard of him." he responded slowly, and she fought very hard to not twitch. _Liar._ "He's my favourite too."

Cutting off the rather tense moment she reached up and tapped his forehead protector.

"Are you stronger than my nii-san? He's training me you know. He won't let me do any jutsu yet even though I can stick the leaf on my head for _aaaages_. He just keeps making me throw some dumb kunai."

"It's important to make sure you have the basics." he mumbled agreeably. Ama suddenly straightened as her stomach growled loudly. Looking out of the library windows she realised that she had been there for the whole afternoon as it was very dark. She caught the eye of the boy next to her before letting a grin slowly spread out across her face.

"Maa... you wouldn't happen to be hungry too, would you?"

* * *

In her past life, Amaterasu Uchiha always had a fantastic attention span. She had one of those minds that was able to just sit and work through something for hours at a time, provided it intrigued her. She would choose a subject she was interested in and examine it layer by layer until she knew it completely inside out. This approach had been detrimental in the previous schooling system, where the children had been expected to know a certain amount of many subjects, spanning from geography to physics. She remembered forcing herself to memorise some topics through sheer stubbornness just to get the grades she needed for med school. Ugh, just thinking about the formation of waterfalls made her want to puke.

It was med school where she flourished, absorbing more and more knowledge on the human body simply because it fascinated her. It was an environment where everyone around her was just as interested in the topics she was obsessed with, and she loved it because she could have multiple conversations about how their bodies worked, how it could go wrong and how they could fix it. She remembered that once infectious diseases had popped up in a conversation and she just let the information flow out of her mouth without really having to think about it. It had become so natural that she couldn't really imagine not knowing anything about her field of choice.

This was why, when Kakashi brought up a book she had taken out on infections in this world, she realised with a startle that she couldn't express what she wanted to with her limited Japanese vocabulary. A familiar urge surged within her, a longing to return to just _knowing,_ and the fact that she didn't almost pained her.

It was probably a good thing, she mused rather sadly while nibbling on the end of her tempura as the conversation died down. She kept forgetting she was in a three, almost four, year old's body and she had to try acting as such. Early maturity could be overlooked, as it had been with Itachi, but she knew that if she spouted any information she shouldn't have known she was going to be in trouble. She would have to handle the conversation with Minato tomorrow _very_ carefully.

"I like it." she told the boy sitting across her simply. He really could finish eating quickly, she noted with amusement, eyeing the empty bowls in front of him. She hadn't been trying but she knew she wouldn't be able to see his face unless he let her.

"You like it." he repeated in a drawl. "But do you understand it?"

His tone wasn't patronising, it was simply curious, she realised. He had been a genius too, so he must have had people talking down to him because of his age, even though he probably knew more than they did. He understood that she was strangely intelligent and treated her as such. She found herself appreciating that sort of sentiment a lot, noting that he must have been quite similar to her.

Apart from the fact that he had actually been a true genius and she was just a child with some extra twenty eight years worth of knowledge.

Ama hummed, picking up another piece of shrimp. "Not really. I've just been copying the characters I don't know so that I can ask someone later, because I can't write on the books."

There was a small stretch of silence as she chewed, and silently appraised Kakashi's choice of restaurant. These were really really good.

"A book that tells me the meaning of a word I don't know would be helpful, but I haven't found one yet. There should probably be one in the civilian section, right?" she asked, making him raise a brow.

"You mean a _jisho_?" She cocked her head to the side, memorising the new word she didn't recognise.

"It's a book that contains the meaning of words you don't know." She blinked, letting out a slow 'Oh'. A dictionary. So they did have those.

"They don't have those in the library though, since they're really expensive and rare." he continued, and she let out a small sigh.

Of course, it makes sense considering that they hand wrote things here. She'd have to talk to Kushina about one then, because she doubted Shisui would be able to help her.

"I have one. It's a bit old but I can give it to you. There are a few scribbles but it should be helpful." She grinned warmly at his surprising offer.

"That would be great! Thanks Hatake-senpai!" He looked at her, unimpressed at her choice of addressing him.

"I'm not your senpai. I'm barely your brother's senpai." he reminded.

"Nii-San then? You're a bit old though, so maybe oji-chan is more appropriate." she mumbled.

"I'm fourteen." he dead panned.

"And I'm three." she shot back, without missing the widening of his eye.

"You said you started chakra training already?" he changed the subject, and at her nod he lost himself to his thoughts in silence. He did that a lot.

Once she was done, he paid and they left into the warm evening. It was rather dark now and she could barely make out the name of the restaurant on the sign.

"Kashi-nii." she decided out loud on their way home, and received a curious tilt of his head in return. "I'm going to call you Kashi-nii."

He didn't react to this, and she took it as a positive reply. As they reached the gates of the Uchiha compound, he spoke up once more.

"Shisui has a mission with me tomorrow, will you let him know?" he asked, making her frown.

"Why don't you tell him yourself? We're close enough." she snarked, but noticed the stationed guard. At his silence, she firmly wrapped her small hand around his finger and walked purposely to the gate.

"Hello!" she greeted the guard with a grin.

"Amaterasu, you're out late today." he replied cheerily, though staring rather openly at the silver haired jōnin she was dragging by the finger.

"Mmh, Kashi-nii was taking me home." she said with a bright smile and a wave of her hand, before marching inside. The guard didn't say anything to that, but she could feel his curious stare on her back.

She also noticed many more stares as she trudged deeper into the compound with the slightly reluctant shinobi on her finger. She had to admit, he did look rather out of place in this sea of black and brown haired clansmen, but she wasn't seeing any resentment or heated glares, at least not yet.

She suspected that if she had brought him in after the Kyuubi attack had happened, the way it did in the series, it would have been different. She would most probably be viewed with more scrutiny and disapproval for 'liaising' with more shinobi outside of the clan, and for bringing them into the compound, no less. She paused slightly as a thought struck her and almost stopped walking completely.

Oh wait, Kakashi was the only non-Uchiha to have their Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit). That was why he was being so reluctant to accompany her through the compound, and it also explained the stares. Ama suppressed a groan at her short-sightedness.

"Ama-chan, you're late you - Hatake-senpai?" Shisui appeared outside their apartment in his usual flicker, but he was in his pyjamas. He had obviously done so instinctively, feeling her outside the door, and not bothering to check whether she was alone. Thankfully for her brother, it was dark, so if he was flushing in embarrassment it wasn't visible.

"Kashi-nii took me for dinner, wasn't he nice? He's going to get me a dic-tion-narily too." she told him seriously, but her high voice and wrong pronunciation obviously made him chuckle. She felt Kakashi remove his hand from her grip.

"Thank you, senpai." Shisui said respectfully before tucking her into his side. Strange, he was moving his hand too but when she looked down it was still.

"That's not a problem. I will see you tomorrow." Kakashi replied and, with a languid stretch, he disappeared. Ama was slowly getting used to that.

Wait, had those small hand flicks and stuff been code? Sneaky.

She wanted to learn it.

"Nii-san?" she started slowly, and his eyes flicked down at her warily as they entered their home. "How do ninja communicate if they don't want to be overheard?"

He sighed, plodding over to the bathroom. "I'll teach you a few handsigns tonight, but as soon as we are done you'll have to go to bed."

"Since you have a mission tomorrow can I stay over at Kushina's?" she asked hopefully.

"Ama! You can't just invite yourself over to the Hokage's house! And it's Kushina-sama, or Kushina-san at the very least!" His expression was a mixture between incredulous and exasperated.

"She offered first I swear!"

"Don't you have training with Fugaku-sama tomorrow?" he inquired, with a slight tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The clan head had stopped them one time when they were passing him and Itachi as they left the training grounds, and had told her that she was going to start having sessions with him once a week. He didn't really give any reason but she suspected that he felt obliged to give them some special treatment because of some leftover guilt. Speaking of which, she hadn't learnt the taijutsu katas he gave her last week.

"...shit."

"Amaterasu Uchiha! _Where on earth_ did you learn that word?!"

* * *

 **Yo guys, here's the next chapter. Longest one so far for me - 3777 words! Whoo! Getting a bit tense now, Ama's feeling quite useless atm. But it's crucial she does something here, or it'd be much harder to try and change something, methinks.**

 **Thank you all for making such a simple task like checking my email so exciting haha, you're all so fab.**

 **Reviews are the food for inspiration, and a hammer to knock down writers blocks.**

 **Much love,**

 **Lei xx**

 **EDIT: 22/10/16 not 3777 words anymore lol and definitely not the longest!**


	6. Six

"You're late."

Amaterasu took off her training pack and settled it at the base of the tree. It just contained some water and some of her brother's old blunt kunai that he couldn't use anymore. She didn't bother reacting to Fugaku's statement. When exactly was 'mid-morning' anyway? Nine? Ten? Whatever, she'd get used to not having clocks soon enough.

"Did you run this morning?" A nod.

He made her run every morning around the compound training grounds and it was quite the distance, perhaps around 7km? She hadn't even been able to run the whole thing for the first week or so, but she improved.

"Time?" he inquired.

"An hour fifteen." was the curt reply.

It was a whole ten minutes faster than last week, so she was very proud of herself.

"If you were trying it would be an hour at most by now." he commented.

She was aware that he knew of her competitiveness. She knew that he was riling her up to push herself, and boy she was still falling for it. Her eyes burned with annoyance as she vowed internally to cut the time down to fifty minutes before next week.

In her past life she hadn't been fit at all. Whatever exercise she did on a daily basis was only to lose pudge. She understood fitness was going to be a large part of this life however and was thankful that she was born a clan child so she could start early.

"We'll work with some weights today." he stated, making her sigh.

"I'd rather not." After a pause, Ama turned to face the familiar stern narrowed eyes with an even gaze.

"You said you wanted to be a kunoichi, and I have warned you that it was going to be difficult." the clan leader said blandly. "The Uchiha clan does not produce any ninja less than extraordinary so, unless you're prepared to work hard, you should quit now."

Amaterasu almost rolled her eyes before telling him patiently, "I'm not even four yet, working with weights will do more harm than good at this point. I read about it, it's det-ri-men-tal to my growth." Cue silence and staring.

She didn't want to be a muscly midget thank you very much. Now that she thought about it, ninja were generally quite short. She had been short in her past life and hadn't liked it at all.

Amaterasu blanched when Fugaku slowly reached into his kunai pouch. "Okay then, we can work on something else."

Dread pooled in her stomach at his placid tone, and her eyes never left the hand that now held a couple of quite pointy looking shuriken. What the _fuck._ No way is he even thinking about -

"Let's test your reflexes."

* * *

Minato Namikaze had heard a lot about the tiny intelligent bookworm from his rather infatuated wife. Kushina had written about the orphan's development very fondly in her letters to him while he was at the front during the war, and he remembered being startled at the dried teardrops on the paper when said child had been moved to the Uchiha orphanage. Before he could do anything however, the matter had already been resolved.

He had also seen the the child's brother, Shisui Uchiha, a few times on the front. After having gotten over the initial shock that an eight year old was there and yes, said child had just beheaded a fully grown man, Minato slowly accepted the fact that the kid was actually very capable. He had come to understand that good shinobi were always put to use in wartime, no matter how old they were.

Although he knew that those eyes were undoubtedly incredibly powerful, the dull red in them preoccupied him. They came with a large price and Minato was worried for the child's mental health. He had conversed with him once, where he asked the boy what he wanted to do once the war was over. The small Uchiha's resolute answer had both saddened and impressed him.

"I'm going to find a way to stop all the fighting in this world."

Once the war actually ended, and the blond was named the Fourth Hokage, he had been much too busy to think about either sibling but now, as he observed the younger Uchiha tentatively patting his wife's baby bump, he decided she was a very likeable child.

She had arrived at their house around an hour before dinner started to help set up, but spent the time with Minato putting soothing balm on the bruises scattered across her limbs.

"We had 'reflex training' today." Ama said rather sheepishly to a furious Kushina Uzumaki. "I've discovered that I'm really clumsy under pressure. Fugu never actually hit me with anything so all of these are from me crashing into things in panic."

They had chuckled at that and Minato was very amused at the way she addressed her clan head. It was undoubtedly from the influence of his wife.

"How's your brother doing, Ama?" he asked conversationally as they set the table.

"He's alright I think. The break from missions has been good for him, but he has one today with Kashi-nii." she replied as she placed the chopsticks down neatly on the table. Ah yes, he remembered. When Kushina had visited him yesterday she had sent his student off to spend time with this little one.

Minato shared a glance with his wife in the kitchen. She had warned him that she wasn't a normal three year old but it was still rather disconcerting to hear the mature phrasing of her sentences.

As the dinner progressed she showed evident signs of being raised in a clan setting, despite being an orphan. She had proper manners at the table but the way she phrased her sentences didn't match her small body at all. The conversation once touched on the topic of _Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques)_ and Minato was definitely shocked that she even knew what it was. Apparently it had piqued her interest after one of Kushina's passing comments and she had read up about it. Speaking of which, he was further surprised when she revealed that she frequently visited the shinobi section of the village library.

"I thought I told you this?" Kushina exclaimed gleefully. "She bothered the guard manning the floor so much he eventually let her in, just to get her to stop." she explained with evident amusement. That was some dedication for a toddler, he thought, slightly taken aback at the sheer abnormality of the situation.

"Do you have any more questions about your reading, Ama-chan? Minato is quite the seal master himself, since he learnt from the best." his wife snarked and he glanced at her fondly.

"Actually I do, but it's not about sealing." the raven-haired girl said after dabbing her mouth with a napkin.

"Is it on that scroll by Kimiko something? That one was good." Kushina commented, and Minato felt her slight surprise when she was answered with a negative.

"I'm on another one now, about the _Bijū (Tailed Beasts)_."

The effect was immediate. Kushina dropped her spoon, paling rapidly and Minato choked on his rice. They collected themselves in a second but that reaction had evidently taken the child aback. The curious gleam in her ebony irises made him rather anxious.

"And what did you read about these bijū?" Minato tried to continue casually. They hadn't been expecting that. He racked his brain to try and remember if there was a book on the tailed beasts in the library and how much detail it contained.

"It was just interesting. I read that there was one with ten tails, a large mass of chakra that split into the nine tailed beasts we supposedly have today, but I wasn't sure if it was a legend. It was certainly phrased like one but I'm not sure."

"And why not?" Minato pressed lightly before sipping on his soup.

"I mean, we'd never know if they were real or not because apparently the First Hokage started sealing them into _people_." Was it just him or did he detect a twinge of disdain in the three year old's tone? Minato slowly stroked his wife's trembling knee soothingly under the table.

"So you want to know if they're real?" he clarified, and was once more stumped when the child shook her head.

"At the moment all my evidence is pointing to the answer that they don't exist. I thought that, if such powers had been sealed into people, then the host would have access to basically unlimited chakra, right? So they'd be really strong and therefore play a large part in wars." She paused to make sure she had both their undivided attention before continuing.

"But when I checked the history scrolls of the accounts of shinobi of that time there are very few accounts of ninja with such large chakra reserves. There were a lot on shinobi with great chakra levels, particularly from...Kirigakure (Village Hidden by Mist), was it? But I think some people are just lucky, or there's a Kekkei Genkai or something." she mumbled, before continuing.

"I've reached two conclusions. One is that the book I read on the Tailed Beasts was just a story book that was misplaced into the history section, or..."

She was silent for a bit, thinking.

"Or?" Kushina prompted.

"The accounts on any of these _containers_ were wiped." she theorized.

There was silence, and Minato felt his strained smile slip completely from his face.

"If these _containers_ truly exist, why would they be kept secret? Maybe to protect their identity from their enemies?" the small Uchiha wondered aloud, tapping a finger against her chin and frowning slightly in concentration. "Maybe the chakra from these Tailed Beasts is harmful to their _containers_ and can't be used in human coils? Or maybe the hosts can't control the power, thus making them unable to contribute in a notable way to the war effort."

Her eyes flickered over to his and he found himself unable to speak. This...toddler had just worked out an S-rank village secret from just using her common sense and a few references from the shinobi library.

"Why keep the Tailed Beasts at all then?" she stopped herself, before rolling her eyes. "Sorry, stupid question."

"No that's a good point, why?" Kushina enquired.

"Because, if the Tailed Beasts have any sort of temperament whatsoever, they'd probably resent humans for dealing with them in such a way, and probably go on a rampage after being unsealed. Which," she paused to pick up her chopsticks again, "would be quite bad, considering how much chakra they supposedly have." she concluded quietly.

There was a pause while the adults tried to process all this information.

"So," Minato started lightly, but his blue eyes were sharp. "when did you manage to think through all this?" Ama shrugged in response, before answering.

"Pretty much now. I mean, I read the books and researched all that stuff this afternoon but that thought process just happened. I think better when I'm talking."

Right. Well, this was certainly extraordinary, and not how Minato expected the evening to go. Now though he wanted to see how far this girl's mind could be stretched.

"So, let's say you're right." he began, and noted the way she glanced at him. She seemed to _already_ know that she was right, but how?

"Although I have been making some stabs in the dark with my theories, your reactions showed my conclusion was pretty close to the actual situation." she explained and he realised he had spoken aloud.

"So you said it was probably a village secret right? How much of a secret do you think it is?" he prompted, and it only took a few moments for unease to plaster itself on her face. "Talk me through it." he requested.

"Your reactions pretty much said it all I think. I mean, maybe the existence of Tailed Beasts isn't much of a secret but the identity of these _containers_ must be a huge one." she told him.

"And what do you think are the consequences, for someone knowing a village secret such as this?" His question made her wrinkle her nose in confusion.

"But I don't know who it is. I just know that they _might_ exist." Minato gave her a rather hard stare.

"I'm sure you can work it out if you think about it." he said rather blandly, and saw something spark in her at those words. So she was competitive.

"I'm not sure if you want me to work it out." she mumbled.

"Yeah, do we want her to work it out?" his wife turned to him looking slightly panicked.

"Too late now. She's worked it out." Minato sighed as he saw realisation sink into the child's features as she stared at his wife.

He realised that Amaterasu's intelligence wasn't limited to the books that she's read. Her analytic skills and ability to read people were truly extraordinary. She was unknowingly doing what high level shinobi did to gain information in an enemy village, and the Fourth Hokage could already see her specialising in the intelligence gathering unit. She had been born gifted with this ability and, although her cleverness had originally taken Minato aback, he now understood how.

However, at this rate, she was going to know too much far too quickly, and the Hokage couldn't ignore the unease that was brewing at the pit of his stomach. She already knew what was one of the largest village secrets, one that would be incredibly dangerous if leaked to other villages. The familiar throb in his temple returned as he felt the weight of stress sink onto his shoulders. Uchiha or not, this child was ... strange.

"If I say I won't tell I'm guessing that won't be enough?" she asked in a mixture of hope and desperation, receiving a rather dry look in return.

"Usually when a shinobi finds out information that they're not cleared to have, protocol is that they have to be seen by a Yamanaka, to prove that they really _did_ work it out and wasn't told by a third source." he explained.

"Or they're promoted to that rank, but I don't think Minato will be able to give you S-rank clearance just yet, Su-Chan." Kushina told her kindly, but she was still pale, and for once the child seemed to be taken by complete surprise.

" _What?_ A _Yamanaka_?" was her almost shrill reply.

The fear in that statement was evident and Minato's gaze turned wary.

"Yes, they possess techniques that allow them look through the mind of other people. It's nothing to worry about Ama-chan, I'm going to check it with the Yamanaka clan head but I don't think you'll be harmed by it."

Amaterasu was silent, and the blond shared a look with his wife. Why did she seem scared?

"Ok." she said finally. "But can I ask you more questions?"

With a hesitant nod from her village leader, the dinner continued.

* * *

Oh _god_ , they're going to read her mind and they're going to do it _**now**_ _._

Ama hadn't been able to sleep a wink that night, panicked thoughts running quickly through her brain.

 _They're going to find out I'm not from here - That I've snatched away the life of a baby that was supposed to be living in this body, and they're going to know what I know._

It _couldn't_ happen. All her planning and acting would all go to waste otherwise, she'd be examined for the rest of this life, there were going to be consequences for hiding such information for so long and _oh lord_ it was going to be an absolute mess if they found out the truth.

She just didn't realise that the knowledge she spouted yesterday would have consequences, she thought she'd be okay because she was close to Kushina, close to the Uchiha clan head, and above all three years old! Three! Why would you have to control what a three year old knew?

But even as she thought this, she knew. Three year olds couldn't protect themselves. If they had access to more secrets than they should and enemies found out, she'd be a target for spies. She just didn't think it through enough. Stupid, stupid, _stupid._

They could even think that she was being...influenced?

 **She. Just. Didn't. Think. It. Through.**

The plan was to put together a string of thoughts regarding a theory on the bijū in front of Minato and Kushina, to get them to think she was a tiny genius and maybe even be more open about it in front of her. She'd be able to freely ask questions so she'd learn more and be able to plan better but _noooo_. She was too short-sighted, she wasn't careful enough and now she thought about it the plan was _dumb as fuck._ And she was going to pay for it, by having her mind invaded and read through from beginning to end.

Ama had blanked out the walk with Kushina until they reached a building she had never seen before. She didn't notice that they had entered a corridor now and she realised she was seated next to Kushina in waiting chairs resembling ones in hospitals.

The little Uchiha was shaking. A warm hand held hers and a voice murmured soothingly into her hair.

 _How_ could she have been so idiotic?! Of course they would have measures to protect a village secret and she had plunged straight into it. She didn't know what to do now. She didn't have time, she felt so vulnerable, so unprotected. She shook more violently, eyes darting from side to side.

"Su-chan, it's alright. Calm down."

She didn't _want_ this! She caught sight of blond hair and clenched her eyes shut, squeezing Kushina's hand as hard as she could in panic.

Blond hair in a high ponytail. Hand on head. Seals - _oh_ _ **god.**_

"So, is this Amaterasu?" A cool calm voice radiating peace, just like a psychiatrist. Someone who works with minds.

Fuck. She couldn't do this.

She screamed, wrenched her hand out of Kushina's and bolted, shooting down the hallway as fast as she could with the only thing running through her mind being _get out of here get out get out_ _ **you're not safe**_ _._

She crashed into something and instinctively clawed at it, shoving it away and continued blindly on until something wrapped their arms around her back.

" _NO!_ _ **"**_ she screeched, thrashing, breathing hard, panting and sobbing loudly, trying to wiggle out of the grip she was trapped in.

" - Amaterasu, Ama, it's okay, you're safe - "

" - Please calm down Su-chan, it's alright - "

She turned and grabbed a handful of the shirt from the person holding her and ceased her movement at the calming voices. The child tucked her head into the person's neck, not noticing their initial stiffening. They had a familiar scent.

"What's gotten into her?"

"I've never seen her like this."

"Shall we go in?" after a pause.

At the four words the child resumed her panicked tantrum,as if someone had pressed the play button, and she vaguely felt the buzzing of chakra as the person holding her tried to stop her from falling.

"Amaterasu Uchiha!" they finally barked after a few moments of struggling, and said child froze before slowly opening her eyes.

The person she had latched onto was none other than Fugaku Uchiha.

"Please don't let them please." she blubbered through her streaming tears, tightening her grip on his shirt and making him wince. "Please, please Fugaku-sama. Don't let them, don't let them. Please, _Promise me._ Promise you won't let them."

"Okay, I won't let them." he repeated soothingly. " I promise."

She calmed down slightly as he slowly traced circles on her back, but continued hiccupping and the tears never stopped.

She was so _scared_.

They stayed like that for a while, until someone stepped out of the room. The fairly aged man with a cane and bandages _everywhere_ focused his gaze on her, and Amaterasu's blood ran cold.

Danzō. Fucking. Shimura.

"I never took you as a person good with children, Fugaku-san." his real, gravelly voice sent chills down her spine.

"Danzō-sama."

Ama didn't know it was possible, but her grip tightened to the extent that her arms started to twinge with pain and her breathing accelerated once more.

"We have matters to discuss with you, as the clan head of this child. I do hope she won't be much more of a problem."

Amaterasu managed to suppress the increasing urge to scream once more as Fugaku slowly stepped into the room with her in his arms. She took in the sight of a semicircular platform with a dome before the salty liquid built up once more and she silently wept. Her arms were aching, her temple was throbbing and her lungs felt constricted in fear. She pushed it down though, she had to keep it in until they finished talking. Fugaku had promised. He promised.

Said leader sat down and turned her so that her back was nestled into his chest, and allowed her to view those present.

Minato and Kushina, both looking quite worried, Danzō, and then her eyes locked with who she recognised as Inoichi Yama – FUCK!

As her face crumpled, Kushina hurriedly stood up and non-so-politely told said man to _get the fuck out_. Ama returned to quietly sniffling and trying to breath normally. Think, she repeated to herself, you're over thirty years old. But she couldn't, her mind was frazzled with stress and fear and she just didn't know what to do.

"What an undisciplined child." Danzō stated disapprovingly.

"She's not usually like this." Kushina shot back hotly, receiving a calming hand on her shoulder from her husband.

"That's even more suspicious. Lashing out at the thought of being caught, probably. Can you talk, child?" Amaterasu didn't react but continued to whimper.

"Ama-chan, can you tell us what you did yesterday?"

 _No. No. Forget I said it. I never said it. I didn't mean it._

"Enough of this. Bring in the Yamanaka and get it over with. If it is as you said Hokage-sama, I wouldn't waste my time coddling a potential threat." Danzō said coldly.

"She's not a potential - "

"Are you saying a _three-year-old_ can work out this sort of information, in one afternoon, by itself?" Danzō hissed at the indignant redhead.

"She's not an _it,_ she's a - "

" _Silence."_ Kushina gaped at the elder. Minato's cerulean eyes were frosty as he stepped in front of her.

"I do hope you will refrain from talking to my wife in such a manner again."

The tension in the room heightened her stress and Ama couldn't deal with it anymore. She trembled, eyes wide and started to cry once more. Danzō glared lethally at her and suddenly he was right there, eyes gleaming and lips curled into a sneer, but before she could scream -

Black.

* * *

Danzō straightened after having knocked out the child and called for the Yamanaka. Kushina was bristling with fury and hurried over to the slack form in Fugaku's arms. A deep crease was between his brows as he stared down at her with, concern?

"I've never seen her like this." he said, and she nodded, patting the girl's sweaty face with her sleeve.

"There must be something wrong." she mumbled. "Minato, does she have to do this? She can't even stand the sight of Inoichi-san, and she told us she was scared."

The blond looked like he had aged a decade in the last few minutes, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I just don't really know what's going on." he sighed. "I don't get why Ama's reacting so strongly to this, and it's worrying me. She shouldn't be so scared." Kushina's jaw slacked.

"No. You're not thinking..." she got a weary look in response and flipped. "Minato! She's a child! I've known her since she was a month old and she's always been mature, _there is no spy, no third party influence_. Something else is obviously wrong! She's completely innocent!"

He didn't get a chance to reply as Inoichi entered with his team. They stationed themselves around the semi-circular platform while Inoichi walked over to them.

"I tried to explain but Danzō-sama's unyielding." he said gravely. "I can't perform this jutsu on her mind, it's too young and weak, especially in this state. She's terrified and forcing it on her may have irreversible effects on her mental stability. She needs to be awake for the procedure."

"Well then we'll have to come back when she's calmer." retorted Kushina.

"And give time for it to recover and possibly escape? That child has very large chakra levels for her supposed age, and you have all said she is strangely mature. What other answer is there to all of this, other than her being under someone's influence?" Danzō's wheezing voice returned along with the click of his cane. "We wouldn't know who they are, where they're from or what their motives are. Yamanaka-san, begin your preparations."

"Are you willing to risk the mental state of potentially innocent child for your theory? _Don't. You. Fucking._ _ **Touch**_ _. Her. Inoichi."_

The redhead noticed that her voice had become lower, more gravelly, and that all she could feel was rage. Tension coiled her body like a spring and fury coursed through her veins, it would be so easy to just snap that ugly little -

"Kushina." one murmur from her husband and the feeling slowly died down. Fugaku wasn't letting go of Ama, looking troubled.

"As the Hokage's wife, I'd expect you to have more control and see the bigger picture. Think of the village. Isn't it true that this child killed her own mother by draining too much of her chakra?" Danzō continued. "That child isn't normal anyway, and you all know it. Now's the opportunity to find out why."

Fugaku stiffened beside her and Kushina realised that he was staring at the child blankly, lost in his thoughts.

"Fugaku, you can refuse right? You're her clan head, none of this has to happen if you don't want it to, right?" she said desperately, shaking off the hand on her shoulder. Said clan head didn't say anything but stood and slowly walked over to the dome.

"Let's just get it over with."

* * *

When she next regained consciousness she found that she couldn't move.

The familiar cold panic coursed through her veins and her eyes shot open, just to see Inoichi come into the room. She strained her neck down to see that yes, she was encased by the dome and yes, there were a team of people on the platform behind her, _all going through handseals._

"No _, please. Please_ no." she whispered, trying to move, trying to thrash, trying to get out, to get away from the man that was slowly advancing towards her.

The man who was going to reveal her secrets. Undo all she had planned for this world. Ruin a new life that she could potentially have enjoyed and...

...Cut ties from everyone she had come to know and love from her three years here. Their faces flashed before her eyes as she started to hyperventilate.

Shisui. Nii-san. Her brother. Her only blood relation in this whole world.

( _Blood running down his face like tears as he smiled, before tipping himself over the edge of the cliff. He was only seventeen.)_

The door opened once more and her hope crashed when Danzō stepped inside.

( _He shot past, abandoning his cane, and a horrible squelching noise was followed a scream of agony that pierced through the air.)_

"Danzō–sama, I must warn you once more that the child's mental stability - "

"You've told me this before. What's important is that we know that there isn't an enemy who knows this information. Now, proceed."

Ama clenched her eyes shut as the Yamanaka came closer. She cried harder, begging for Kushina, Minato, Mikoto, anyone.

"Fugaku-sama!" she sobbed. "You promised! _You promised!"_

She couldn't be found out. She would be taken away, she wouldn't be able to do anything to help her clan, her brother, her friends. She had to protect them from this man. This man standing right here. Danzō.

No. It wasn't going to happen. A rustling, then the weight of a hand on her head. She wasn't going to _let_ it happen.

" _ **NO.**_ "

Her eyes flew open and glowing crimson locked with a startled green.

* * *

 **It was at this point Ama knew...**

 **...she fucked up.**

 **I'm back! Hope you enjoy, sorry if it seems rushed!**

 **I have an announcement to make! As of today, 01/06/16, the beta for this story is... Simone, better known as RADIOPOISONING!**

 **Send some love! We're in the process of working out details and going over the first chapters so expect a few changes!**

 **Love you always,**

 **Lei xx**

 **EDIT 22/10/16**


	7. Seven

_The jutsu was a success._

 _You're not going to find out anything new._

 _You're going to see that I'm just normal._

 _I am just normal._

 _Just normal._

 _Normal._

* * *

"She's just normal."

"Why is she unconscious?"

"She's just normal."

"Yes, I know Inoichi, but your jutsu never leave someone unconscious. Delirious and confused, maybe, but never knocked out."

"Normal."

"…Are you fucking with me?"

"Huh? No! Sorry Kushina. I just feel…weird."

"I'm glad she's okay."

"Yeah... just normal."

Inoichi ducked under the redhead's punch with a chuckle, but straightened when Minato and Fugaku entered the room. It was weird, he thought, like something was slightly off. He remembered imtroducing his chakra slowly into the girl's mind, just in case she reacted badly, but it all went okay. She was just normal. A wave of calm washed over him and he nodded to himself. Everything was fine.

"...Inoichi?"

"Hmm? Sorry."

Three pairs of eyes were staring at him: an annoyed violet, a slightly concerned blue and a deadpan black.

"She's fine. Just nor -" he paused, watching warily as the redhead's fist clenched. "- nothing's wrong. No enemy taking over her mind or whatever Danzō-sama thought it could be."

"Anything that explains her fast development?" Fugaku asked. Inoichi shrugged.

"She's always been smart. I just saw her memories." Wait, did he? He couldn't remember any of it. His head twinged slightly in pain but he found relief when remembering that all was okay and that she was normal.

"I'm glad." Minato said with a sigh. "Where is she now?" Inoichi startled, looking back at the dome.

"She was just... here?" he trailed off and two of the three pairs of eyes simultaneously sharpened.

"No she wasn't! Kami, pay attention for two minutes. God you haven't changed a bit." Kushina rolled her eyes. "You just said she got taken to the hospital because she was unconscious when you finished."

"That's also unusual." the Hokage mumbled before pecking his wife on the cheek. "I need to get back to work, I don't think I'll be home today." And with that, he was gone.

"So many weird things have happened in the last twenty four hours... I need a nap." said redhead sighed. Inoichi silently agreed. He was going to go back to work and forget about all of this because even though it was all fine (she was normal). His subconscious kept trying to look deeper but he didn't need to at all. Danzō had been in the room when he had done the procedure anyway, he would definitely have said something if anything had gone wrong.

With a shake of his head he walked off.

* * *

Danzō Shimura was intrigued.

The Yamanaka hadn't noticed anything wrong as he brushed past the elder after bowing. He looked slightly dazed but all in all... the child's defence was a success. However, just to make sure, Danzō appeared in front of him and cast a stronger genjutsu using one of his stolen sharingan to make sure that he didn't go spouting nonsense about the child's abilities. The elder wanted to keep this one to himself.

He had no doubt been surprised when the child had suddenly stopped her blasted screeching and he had felt a large wave of chakra that stopped the Yamanaka in his tracks, eyes glazing over.

"The jutsu was a success?" the blond said slightly confusedly. "She's just normal."

He repeated this multiple times, sounding more sure of himself the more times he said it, and Danzō stepped forward to see that the girl had activated her Kekkei Genkai. The single tomoe was spinning rapidly in both eyes and she was breathing laboriously.

"Just normal." the Yamanaka mumbled again and the elder sneered at him. What an absolute fool, getting trapped in a genjutsu cast by a three year old.

The girl's Sharingan promptly flickered out of existence and she slumped over, unconscious. Apparently, even if she had the chakra reserves of a typical genin and could probably keep the Sharingan active for a while, the activation of her Kekkei Genkai coupled with her highly emotional state, seemed too much for her to handle.

So, her mind hadn't been taken over by an imposter. The girl was definitely herself, if she managed to activate her Sharingan. Even if she was under a _Genjutsu (Illusionary Technique)_ the Sharingan's activation would have taken care of that, and he was sure that the Sharingan could not be activated remotely in a host's body.

But then, why was she so terrified of having her mind read? What would a three-year-old have to hide so dearly she activated the _Sharingan_ of all things to protect it?

The elder was certainly very intrigued, so he took the child out of the dome, cast another genjutsu on the other members of the mind reading team, who were looking quite alarmed at this point, and told Inoichi that he was taking her to the hospital.

Which he did, but not before taking a little detour through one of the bases belonging to _Ne (Root, Foundation)_ in order to place a small tracking seal on her.

After all, he had just found a new project, and he wasn't going to lose it any time soon.

* * *

The elder sibling's vision sharpened drastically as fury coursed through his body and he knew his irises were now an intimidating blood red.

"What do you mean she's in the hospital?! I was away for _two_ days!" he practically hissed, body tensed and ready to spring.

Shisui Uchiha did not easily lose his temper, but he was a nine-year-old boy and even he had his limits. Their mission had not gone well, they had lost a teammate and travelled for miles without stopping so he was tired, aching and returning to this sort of news pushed him over the edge.

"I don't know the details, I was just told to tell you that you were free to go straight to the hospital and not go to the briefing." the gate guard said, eyeing him warily. Shisui saw Hatake-senpai give him a slightly concerned look from the corner of his eye before he released a burst of chakra into a familiar shunshin.

He appeared on one of the rooftops and immediately took off running, countless scenarios darting through his head. If he had been excused from the mission briefing to go to the hospital then something serious must have happened. Reports usually were told with every member of the team present so that no details were emitted. His eyes burned from overuse but he barely noticed it as he jumped into a final shunshin that took him inside the hospital building.

"Amaterasu Uchiha." he said immediately to the nurse at the desk, and every second she took when turning the pages of the admissions book seemed like an age.

"Room 201 to your ri-"

It didn't matter, he had located her chakra signature. He shot off and found the door within seconds, slamming it open only to find a familiar body blocking his way.

Shisui hastily scampered backwards, bending into a bow as he blurted out a "Fugaku-sama."

"We're going to have to step out for a bit." was the thin reply before a large hand gripped his arm, the next moment suddenly finding themselves outside the hospital.

Shisui tried not to wheeze too hard at the sudden teleportation as the clan head turned unfazed to face him.

"Your sister has just woken up - "

"from what?!"

" - she was unconscious for around twenty four hours - "

" - wait _what?!_ Why _?_ How _?_ _**Who**_ _\- "_

" - and that information is classified as of today by the Hokage."

What.

"What do you mean it's _classified_?" the boy practically snarled. He had had enough of this. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

His sister had been in hospital unconscious. For an entire day _._ That didn't happen unless someone had been severely knocked out, locked in a genjutsu or had their chakra depleted.

"I meant exactly what I said." his clan leader said bluntly. "You're a nine-year-old field promoted chūnin. You don't have the clearance to know."

"Then how did Amaterasu _,_ who's _three,_ get involved in such high-level matters?" Shisui asked furiously, manners having flown out the window a while ago. He was extremely worried _._ Something happened and it hadn't been good for his sister. She was awake and he wasn't allowed to see her. _Why?_

"Cut the attitude. It is how it is, and nothing can change that." Fugaku shot back quietly, dark eyes gleaming dangerously. "No one gets to know what they aren't supposed to know without any consequences."

Shisui blinked at the strange phrasing, searching for answers in the blank canvas that was his clan head's face. That last statement seemed slightly off, perhaps it had a double meaning? Ama was a very curious child, did she accidentally find out something she wasn't supposed to know? Did the _village_ do that to her? Cold dread and a strange sense of betrayal crept up his spine as he stilled, irises flickering into a tired black.

"What consequences?" he enquired in a low voice, but only received a bland shrug in reply.

"You can pick her up from my house at dinner tonight."

With that Fugaku disappeared, leaving behind a distraught Chūnin in his wake.

* * *

Everything _hurt._ She couldn't move her muscles because they were aching so badly. She let out a groan as she tried to move her arm, only receiving a twitch in response, and instantly regretted it.

"Su-chan?"

At the familiar voice all the memories came flooding back.

 _"I promise"_

 _"Now,_ _ **proceed**_ _." a hand reaching down for her -_

"NO!"

The hand paused before receding, but it wasn't the same hand as before. It was Kushina's.

Did they know now? Was she in an asylum? A prison?

"Su-chan, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." came the whispered apologies, tickling her ear.

"Amaterasu-san, if you don't mind I have a few questions for you." came an unfamiliar but soothing voice, and a smiling man appeared in her vision. Her eyes were very dry and scratchy. After effect of the mind-walking perhaps? The nerves twisted uncomfortably in her stomach as she watched him turn onto a blank page on his clipboard.

 _If you're going to ask me about my past life, don't. I won't answer._

"My name is Hiro, and I'm your iryō-nin for your stay here. Your chakra was depleted to a very low extent, do you know why?" he asked, getting a dumbfounded look in return.

...Why would her chakra be depleted?

"No." she replied hesitantly. That was a weird first question to be asking a reincarnated person.

"That's no problem. Can I ask what you remember from the procedure?" continued the bespectacled man.

She winced. 'So it did happen.'

"His hand touched my head and then I don't remember anything."

The doctor hummed and noted something down.

"My final question is -" she gulped. Here came the 'Why didn't you tell anyone you had a life before this one?' "- how are you feeling now?"

She stared at him uncomprehendingly for a few seconds.

"Fine...?" she responded uncertainly.

"You don't seem so sure." the doctor prompted helpfully.

"…I'm feeling a bit dazed. What did you find out from the procedure?" she asked. The doctor chuckled.

"I'm afraid that information is classified to me. I'm sure Kushina-san will be happy to fill you in on the details, but I'm just going to make sure you're not in too much pain before signing the discharge forms." he explained. "I believe mentally you're alright, which I understand had been the original cause for concern."

Kushina nodded before beaming and Ama stared. 'Why was she acting so normal?'

"We can finally get out of here then, -ttebane!" she cheered. "Mikoto-chan's cooking tonight, so we're having a big dinner to celebrate you waking up."

"I'm...alright?" Amaterasu was confused. She blinked again - was there something in her eyes? They were strangely irritated - and searched the redhead's face for any hidden emotions. Maybe she just couldn't share the information in front of the doctor.

When the doctor left however, Kushina's mood did dampen, but not for the reason Ama thought.

"I'm really sorry, Su-chan."

Surely she should be the one who was sorry? She was the one who had been lying about who she really was and the fact that _she knew how Kushina was going to die._ Ama remained silent, waiting for the woman to continue.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. You were really scared and we forced it on you without really talking to you about it."

The nine-tails container looked like she was about to cry. What was going on? Ama thought desperately as she slowly sat up, reaching out a hand for the redhead's face.

"It's okay?" she tried meekly.

"I'm so sorry, Su-chan." Kushina repeated the mantra, burying her face into the little girl's arms. Ama was still very confused.

"What was the result?" she asked finally.

"You're normal. No one else was in your mind." came a low voice from behind and she turned to see Fugaku standing there, looking stoic as usual.

'Don't show your surprise, don't show your surprise, don't show your surprise -'

" _Really?!_ "

Nice one, you absolute dipshit. Two pairs of eyes locked on her form.

"I was really scared there would be something and I'd be taken away." she continued hurriedly, feeling tears well up in her eyes in relief.

She didn't know how, but her secret was safe. It was okay. Somehow, the jutsu hadn't worked, she was still viewed as normal and it was _okay._

She could still intervene, she could still change things. She could still save her nii-san.

With this thought, she cried once more, simultaneously vowing to never get stuck in such a situation ever again.

She was going to need the nine-tails more than she thought, only now she recognised she wasn't going to be able to do it alone.

* * *

Her nii-san looked like he had been to hell and back.

"What happened to you?!" she asked, horrified at the sight of his bloodshot eyes, muddy hair, slumped form and – "Is that _blood_ on your clothes?!"

He still managed an exasperated look however.

"Really? What happened to me? What happened to _you_?!" he shot back immediately, completely ignoring her remark.

"When did you get back? Did you not have any time to wash?" Ama carried on distractedly, rearing back after a tentative sniff. He stank, a lot."You can't have dinner like this!"

He stared at her incredulously.

"She's right –ttebane! I can smell you from here!" Kushina called from the kitchen. Ama briefly wondered if it was due to the fox's influence that her sense of smell was so keen.

"You can use the bathroom to wash up Shisui-kun. We have some of your clothes here from the laundry." Mikoto added.

Mikoto had deemed herself responsible for all their household chores and had them done with her own family's. Ama didn't really care who did them as long as they were done, it was one problem off her shoulders.

Shisui's eyes hadn't left her form since he arrived. He quickly flashed through a couple of signs and she raised her brows. She barely saw him move his hands, let alone distinguish what he was trying to say.

With an exaggerated roll of his eyes, he did it slower.

 _Status - Okay?_

She gave him a funny look.

"Fine, why wouldn't I be?" she rubbed at her eyes. God why were they so itchy?

He kept staring at her and she noted the telltale signs of worry in his features... The slight tensing of his jaw and the faint crease between his brows being the largest factors. She spent this time studying him and stopped on every little scratch, her attention held by a particularly deep slash that he would have to clean properly to make sure it wouldn't get infected.

"I read about some first aid treatment yesterday." she said suddenly, and his gaze turned wary, anticipating the question that was undoubtedly going to follow.

"No."

"Please nii-san?"

"No."

"Pleeease? I'll be gentle!" she basically whined, batting her eyelashes and causing him to roll his eyes. "Nii-sama?"

"Only if we're training tomorrow." he said suddenly, with a glint in his eye. Her hopeful look fell comically fast, something closely resembling a pout settling on her features.

"Weapons training?" she replied dejectedly. He shrugged, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"After some taijutsu drills I think."

Ama huffed and stalked out of the room to get him a towel.

* * *

"For the last time Ama, _stop rubbing your eyes!_ "

Said child scrunched up her face in annoyance, her irritated eyes twitching uncomfortably.

"I don't know what's wrong with them, it's been like this ever since I woke up from the hospital." she complained, sliding once more into the standard Uchiha taijutsu stance.

Her brother eyed her worriedly, not even bothering to get into a defensive position as his younger sibling charged at him.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, deflecting her weak but accurate blows. She was definitely improving quickly.

"No." she huffed, swinging into a very slow but well placed back kick. Her technique was pretty damn close to flawless, he noted in pleasant surprise. The extra lessons with the clan head had evidently helped a lot.

"Just itchy?"

Oh that was a sloppy swing. He frowned, jabbing her side gently but firmly enough to make her hiss and acknowledge her mistake.

"Ye- oww." she squeaked, spinning swiftly into a low stance to block his next 'attack'. " Sometimes it burns."

'Strange. The only time I remember having itchy eyes was when I first activated the Shar-' Apprehension washed over him in an icy wave as he grabbed her small wrist harsher than normal. She stared at him bewildered as he peered into her face gravely.

"Focus chakra at the back your eyes." he ordered. She floundered at this sudden request and he released his grip, watching carefully as she placed her hands into the tiger seal for concentration and focused.

A few tense moments passed but the next time she opened her eyes they remained a calm ebony. It didn't soothe the worry in his gut though, and without warning he appeared in front of her, leg swinging into his own back kick. He only registered a choked gasp as it connected and she flew backwards, before he was gone once again in a burst of chakra to knock her down from behind. She hit the ground with a thud that made his heart twinge but his gaze steeled. If it was true...

"Nii-san you - urk!" Small arms barely managed to make it into the standard cross for a block before his foot was there, and he reached out to fasten his grip around her wrist again, but this time when he met her gaze it was no longer shocked.

She was furious.

Shisui couldn't really remember a time when she had been really angry before. Sure, she got annoyed but not like _this_. He ducked under a fast jab, eyes widening in surprise. He lifted a hand to swat away the leg that was swinging into his left, then used his other arm to shove her backwards to create space. She tripped over her own feet and landed on her back, but by the time he had reached for her she rolled through his legs. He twisted, anticipating a punch to his back but -

He didn't see the foot slam upwards between his legs.

An embarrassingly high-pitched groan escaped him and he appeared a few feet away, legs crossed and a pained look on his face. Why would she do that?! That was a _low blow._

"You." she wheezed, still reeling from the earlier kick. "absolute MEANIE! I got out of the hospital yesterday! And you used chakra you cheater!"

Shisui Uchiha simply groaned once more. He should've guessed, nothing was ever going to be simple when his sister was involved. He was too busy squeezing his eyes shut and willing the pain to leave to notice the narrowing of his little sister's eyes as she stared at her reflection in a puddle beside her, thoughts whirring throughout her brain.

* * *

The following month and a half passed quickly, and Shisui had been going on more and more missions lately - particularly with a certain silver-haired shinobi. Ama theorised they were probably trying to get her brother to join the ANBU black ops sometime in the future, but wasn't sure if she remembered him actually accepting the offer in the manga. If he wasn't on missions, then he would spend most of his time in the training grounds, either the private Uchiha ones with some senior clan members or in the village ones with his other shinobi acquaintances.

This did however mean that Ama's time spent with him decreased rapidly, especially as she was not idle herself. She found herself cleaning his wounds, wrapping them up and rubbing ointment onto his bruises when he was asleep more times than she cared to count, but she couldn't really remember the last time they had a proper meal together.

Amaterasu spent most of her time with Kushina, reading together and practising calligraphy, and strangely enough, Fugaku. Her memorisation of the standard Uchiha taijutsu stances was quick in theory but sloppy in practice and, while he increased the frequency of their training times to three sessions a week, he always found some way to criticise every single thing she did. She didn't really feel as though she was improving but she knew she had come far from not being able to run the whole distance around the training grounds when they first started. His stress lines were deepening however, and this never failed to serve as a reminder to the young child that village relations with the clan were probably drastically worsening at this point.

Amaterasu had also spent a lot of her time planning, mapping out multiple scenarios and creating a massive spider diagram with possible futures and consequences to her actions. It was all written in a mixture of English and French, the two languages she had mastered in her last life, and was nowhere near completed, but Ama understood that she did need to actually think more on this and not wing it as she thought of doing before. This wasn't just a case of solving a simple problem with a one-step calculation, this was a whole life she had to draw out.

"What do you do as the clan leader?" she asked Fugaku one time, after a particularly long round of running suicides across the grounds.

"Many things." came the detailed reply, and she scowled.

"Like…three things?" she tried cheekily, and received an impressive stink-eye in response.

"Improving the clan, making sure everyone's happy and being the bridge between the clan and the village."

Bingo.

"That sounds hard." she hummed. "Especially the last one. I bet the differences between the clan's interests and the village's are huge."

Fugaku gave a surprisingly deep sigh, rubbing his face wearily.

"You have no idea." he mumbled, before realising he had said that and fixing her with a dead stare. She looked up at him innocently.

"Why?"

"I'm not talking about this with you." he sniped before jerking his head to a wooden post. "Fifty high kicks now. You're doing two more for every one that's sloppy."

The loud groan that followed caused a few startled birds to leave the surrounding forest, but the tiny girl dragged herself up to the post. As the rhythmic 'thumps' started to ring across the clearing, little did the clan leader know that Ama was not actually focusing on her technique, but rather debating how on earth to break this sort of news to this type of person.

Yes. Amaterasu Uchiha had decided after many nights of consideration that the best person to confide in was in some ways the worst. Good old Fugu-face.

In her notes, under the subheading 'HELP', was 'Ugly FugFace' in between 'Darling Shina' and 'Shisui the top bae', both crossed out. Shina was too emotional, and this was multiplied tenfold as she was really almost ready to pop. Shisui was indeed top bae, but he was also very busy and people would notice if he stopped training to talk to her about her problems... and the possible demise of the clan. Yeah he wasn't ready for it yet.

Fugaku was the best as he didn't particularly like her, so when choosing a method, he'd decide on the one that would be best for his clan and then the village before he chose what would be best for her.

Which she thought was reasonable. She may have been given a second chance at life but she didn't want to be selfish about it to the point where she would compromise the future of a whole villlage.

Fuggy also had power. He was respected. Not that Shina wasn't, but both her and her husband were very busy at the moment, which was also why Ama hadn't chosen Minato as a potential helper. They were also not directly part of the problem.

After her originally-fifty-turned-two-hundred-and-twenty-two high kicks were finished, she flopped down onto the floor and took a long drink from her bottle, readying herself for the conversation about to take place.

She then stood up, faced the clan leader (more like craned her neck upwards to stare at - she was currently tiny) and cleared her throat.

"I need to talk to you about the future of the clan." she started, and had completely not anticipated the dead silence that came after that statement. Fugaku's eyes were glinting in amusement, that bastard. She scowled. "We can't be overheard." she continued, painfully aware of her high little toddler voice.

"Are you trying to postpone your conditioning?" came the drawled reply. She winced. They both knew she hated conditioning. It was basically fitness but a lot worse.

"No. I'm being serious." she mumbled, and something about her sincerity must have come across, because after another moment of silence, he slowly removed a tag from his pouch and fizzled it in his hand with chakra. Ama felt something wash over her and assumed that a silencing seal was in place.

"Begin. You have two minutes." he said, face set into a slight frown.

Ama shut her eyes, and focused. In the next moment, Fugaku's pulse jumped in surprise as dark eyelashes parted to show crimson.

"What is the meaning of -"

"I got this after I woke up from the mindwalk. Seeing how your chakra shifted, I'm guessing you didn't know about it." she began steadily, the Kekkei Genkai fading out of sight once she knew she had his attention. "I don't remember what happened, but now I just _know_ stuff, and I don't know why." His eyes narrowed, form tensing.

"What stuff?" was the terse reply.

Amaterasu Uchiha looked him dead in the eyes, and what she murmured next made the blood in his veins run cold.

* * *

 **I have a question - how do I stop writing this and continue with revision?**

 **Help.**

 **Genuine problem here.**

 **Failing life.**

 **Dying. (maybe I'll be reincarnated into - ok no.)**

 **But guess what guys? IT'S OKAY CAUSE RADIOPOISONING'S HERE! Literally Simone is top bae, she's has made my mess readable and I don't know how she does it. She's so lovely and has worked super duper hard, can't thank you enough! Let's stick with this to the end k?**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter - any questions don't hesitate to drop a review or PM, I'll always be there! One thing about the probability of how Inoichi was put under her genjutsu in the last chapter, some people weren't convinced so I'll try and explain my reasoning here. I've put it past Radiopoisoning (my darling beta) too so I think it's pretty reasonable!** **It's said that Shisui could control people without them even realising, and this is evidently after honing his original Sharingan, but even still he was able to achieve this at a very young age. He must have had a high level of the one tomoe sharingan to begin with, and this is what Ama's was based off of. It was obviously a _much_ weaker version, but I figured since they're siblings they should have similar ocular powers. Inoichi was also focusing on the task at hand, and obviously also quite conflicted about whether to do the mindwalk on such a reluctant toddler when he has his own child as well, so it's very feasible that this little genjutsu slipped past. Danzo was also there to fill any holes should her genjutsu wear off (which it definitely would have).**

 **Thank you readers, reviews are hearts.**

 **Lei xx**

 **EDIT: 22/10/16**


	8. Eight

Stress was an unpleasant thing.

If you asked Fugaku, he would tell you that it felt as if the air he was breathing was constricting around him, and that there was pressure from everywhere he turned.

If you asked Amaterasu, she'd tell you that her amygdala was sending threat messages to the hypothalamus, which in turn triggered the sympathetic nervous system to increase her heart rate, constrict some blood vessels and dilate others, slow down the intestines, inhibit digestive secretions and prompt glands to flood the system with cortisol. You would then stop her before she continued onto the effects of cortisol on the body.

Stress was a primal instinct closely linked with fear. It was supposed to help fight or escape predators, but the point of it was that once there was no more danger the feeling and effects would disappear.

For humans however the 'predator' was multitasking, responsibility, having high expectations of oneself. Difficult to escape in a lifetime, let alone in a mere afternoon... and we're just not designed to keep fleeing from predators for weeks on end with no breaks. It's essentially what happens however, since your body can't differentiate between a bear attack and a bad exam result.

It's therefore no wonder that, although it was around three in the morning, two figures were up in their respective houses, flicking through scrolls and writing notes. Unbeknownst to the other, the same thought was being repeated frantically through their minds.

October 10th was just three days away.

Ama would have liked to say that she was prepared, but she really wasn't, and she wasn't dealing with it very well. The idea that she could completely mess something up, that she could _fail_ something, was a foreign idea to her. And an unappreciated one at that.

Previously, if she put her mind to something, she would reliably make it happen. If it was an exam, she'd work to get 100%. If it was applying to a course she wanted to do, she'd do all the prep she needed and then some to get in. Maybe get a scholarship too if she felt like it.

If she had been even marginally less stressed that there was no guarantee that everything would turn out okay, maybe she would have realised that changing a supposedly historical event as a three-year-old was something on a completely different level compared to what she used to deal with before.

Ama had already made a grave mistake that had luckily turned out alright, even if it did cost her mentally. She became paranoid, scared that the future would be different from the one she remembered from the tale she read so long ago, thus invalidating one of the few certainties she still held on to in this life.

As soon as she vaguely felt a plan form in her mind, it was attacked by her own cynic that poked holes in it, making it useless.

Fighting with yourself was an incredibly tiresome affair.

To be completely honest, it was a miracle that she had even sought help in the first place. She never really needed it in her previous world. It was crucial that she manipulated Fugaku properly though, feeding him bits of information so that he would react in a certain way, and always feel as though he had been in control. Knowledge was her trump card, and she needed to use it well.

A couple hours later she found herself perched on a roof facing the main Uchiha household, scanning through a scroll with her Sharingan activated. Fugaku had told her briefly about how the user could absorb information much faster when it was activated and imprint it into her mind more solidly than her normal eyes ever could.

She wasn't even sure why she had been surprised at that. Of course the creepy eyes could vastly improve memory retention, it could do everything else. It really was such a cheat, and she loved it.

"Not now Itachi."

"Father, we haven't seen you in days -"

"I said **no.** "

The sharpness of that tone startled Amaterasu out of her trance, making her frown at the two chakra signatures standing in the doorway. One was rippling with hurt while the other was flowing unevenly in agitated bursts. She tucked her scroll away into her pouch as the larger one walked off, cutting off the chakra that kept her sharingan active.

She caught the surprised coal black orbs of Itachi very briefly before sliding off the other side of the roof and sprinting into the general direction of the Uchiha Police Headquarters.

Fugaku Uchiha walked into his office, shut the door behind him and promptly sank to the floor, completely ignoring the small chakra signature pinging away at his senses from the corner.

"Seal please." came the quiet voice of the person that put him in such a state in the first place. While Fugaku slowly reached for one, he watched with a frown as she tucked away an antique scroll on the sharingan. One that she definitely shouldn't have access to.

"That's from the clan library." he murmured with a disbelieving expression on his face. Who gave a three-year-old access to _those?!_

She grinned sheepishly - an expression that usually meant there was hell to come for the clan head. That devilish little - "I want to find out if it really was the sharingan that triggered my strange knowledge."

Fugaku was sure that he looked quite done with life at that moment and didn't question it any further. After all, what else would explain how she knew what she knew? There were many myths about what the Sharingan could do, and little about what it couldn't do. He knew for a fact that most of the knowledge on the sharingan that the Uchiha clan possessed today came from the sengoku jidai (Warring States Period), and he would bet his right eye that many of the secrets discovered during that tumultuous time never reached the paper currently in his clan's possession. He pointedly kept his thoughts far away from that tablet filled with quasi-gibberish underneath the Naka Shrine.

He wasn't going to focus on that at the moment, not with the mounting headache he was currently trying, and failing, to deal with. Maybe that scroll would keep her sufficiently distracted for the time being. S-Rank secrets were supposed to remain just that. Secret.

It had been one of the main reasons for upping her training time, after all. She had an overactive brain, just like her mother, however, while her mother threw herself into taijutsu training to divert her thoughts, Ama welcomed them... and that was dangerous.

She was the least of his problems for the moment however, especially with this new issue she had dropped like a kibaku fuda (Explosive Tag) in his lap.

 _"I know that you have a sharingan capable of bending even the Kyūbi to your will."_

He suppressed a shiver at the mere thought of hearing that from the little girl's mouth. If that particular piece of information was leaked, it could start a civil war. No one should have known that. No one.

 _"I'm only telling you this because I think Kushina's in trouble. I know that you know she's the jinchuriki of the Kyūbi, and if you're planning on doing anything,_ _ **anything**_ _at all, that'll harm a hair on her then I swear to you I will speak. I will speak loudly and clearly of what I know, and I will destroy you and this clan."_

Those words had echoed around in his head for a while after that conversation, and the sheer emotion in them had taken him aback. She had really meant it. It had been slightly offensive that she thought she could do anything to harm him, let alone the clan, but the thought was there and he strangely appreciated it. It meant that he only needed her to bond with the clan, and then this protectiveness would extend to it, which would definitely be useful in the long-term if she proved to be as good a fighter as she was an academic. He didn't really blame her for being so suspicious of his potential actions considering how he had treated her ever since she was born.

After he denied any plans to control that particular bijū came the alarming information.

 _"Is there a rogue Uchiha, or someone with a stolen Sharingan, with that ability? Because I feel that something will happen regarding the Kyūbi when Kushina goes into labour."_

That was impossible, and he flat out denied even the vaguest possibility of such a thing happening, but her point was sound. If her information about the capabilities of his mangekyō sharingan (Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye) was true, then was it really a stretch to assume that all her other knowledge was also reliable? If so, then this little girl was gifted with some form of foresight into the future.

Yeah no. Fugaku wasn't going to think about what that meant that just yet.

This had been what he had thrown himself into for the past week or so - he had been searching up every deceased Uchiha within the last twenty years and had tried to track back their Sharingan.

It had strangely been quite difficult. There was a squad in the Police Force tasked with tracking down the deceased and the cremation of their bodies, but there were many holes in the data recorded. He had taken Itachi to the battlefield during the last war to do this job, and to teach him about the violence of war, but he never really entertained the thought that a sharingan could actually be used against the village, never mind in such a manner.

Perhaps it was because transferring the eyes to a new body took a high toll on it, as the foreign chakra system wasn't designed to operate with a Sharingan. That, and most other countries simply did not possess iryō-nin qualified enough to perform something as delicate as an eye transplant.

...but maybe that was a naive thought. After all, Kakashi Hatake had a working Sharingan that was transplanted into him by his teammate Rin Nohara, who was only a chūnin at the time, and by no means an expert in the field.

 _"Just imagine if something like that did happen. People are going to misunderstand, and misunderstandings can be devastating... as I'm sure you know. If something did happen, and I know we're not 100% certain it will, we have to make sure that the Uchiha are not falsely blamed."_

Yes, he could certainly imagine. The elders wouldn't take being falsely accused lightly, especially with what they were whispering about already.

This girl was opening doors to potential dangers towards the clan and the village that had already existed and shown him things that had been right under his nose. Fugaku didn't like it one bit.

"When you asked me about what I do as clan leader…" he started slowly, "you mentioned the differences in interests between the clan and the village."

Ebony eyes stared at him curiously, but also wearily, and it was only then that the clan head started to notice that the clothes the child was wearing were the same as the ones she wore three days ago, and that her eyelid creases were deeper and more defined than normal. One of the many signs of being awake for too long.

"Where's Shisui?"

"Mission." was her curt reply.

"How long did you sleep yesterday?" He smothered his rising anger at the roll of her eyes. Insolent. Itachi would _never -_

However, his heart twinged. Of course Itachi would never. Itachi had parents.

"I think we can ignore these little details, what with the possibility of a village catastrophe looming over our heads in _three days time._ "

Fugaku stared at her for a few moments before sighing. She was a child, but she bore a burden that was too large for her shoulders... even with a mind way beyond her age. He sometimes forgot she was not even a genin. She shouldn't be having these sorts of conversations with him, conversations meant for elders and the council and clan leaders, but here she was, even younger than Itachi.

That was the price of knowledge. He hoped his sons would never have to deal with such a life.

"Okay then. Tell me what you know about the disagreements between the clan and the village."

"These are only my speculations, so only if you promise to tell me the truth."

"Deal."

And so they talked. They planned while Amaterasu took notes, promising to destroy them after coding them, and talking to her quiet, understanding form made him feel as if his own burden was lightening. She frequently asked him _his opinion_ on matters, and that was a new take on things - after all, when pressured to make decisions no one cared about what he thought. They just cared about the pros and cons the decision would bring _._ The hard facts.

He told her about the things the elders wanted, like having Uchiha children entered earlier, graduated earlier, trained harder. They wanted the strong ones to get special training while the less talented were not prioritised. They wanted a clan's mission department, and do missions separate from the village's so they could have more funds, and with it more power. The Uchiha Police was not enough. They didn't like their clansmen being part of the village's three man team system, apparently it was 'limiting' and not letting them discover their true potential.

They thought that the village was deliberately trying to limit the Uchiha's power. That they were scared of their potential influence.

They frequently brought up the fact that, of the four Hokage that had been chosen since the beginning of Konoha, not even one had been an Uchiha, despite us having been one of the two founding clans of the village.

He told her that the village's ideals were naturally very different from the clan's. Konoha believed that teaching children _why_ they were fighting, instead _how_ to gain power, was more important and would lead to stronger shinobi. Shinobi with a purpose. Teaching teamwork early on would give Konoha-nin more positive reasons to train, and make the forces of Konoha one coherent army that would do anything to protect their village.

That was in short, the concept of the _Hi no Ishi (Will of Fire)_.

While the clan believed in teaching their children to be strong enough to crush their opponents and show off their power, the village wanted to grow a generations of shinobi who would be loyal and capable of protecting their village.

He told her he was all for having stronger children. It meant less would die and more would be be a part of a stronger Konoha, which would also mean less villages would feel confident with attacking them, meaning less wars. He also said that, although the village's intentions seemed to be pure, he knew that part of it was to cover their real reasons.

He thought there was an element of wanting to keep control of the Uchiha, but they would never admit to it. That was his view. He thought that even though the clan did have selfish desires to get stronger as a clan, and not as a village, they were honest to him about it. However, the village pretended to do something all for the sole reason of improving the village as a whole, but they weren't truthful about the other, less pure reasons.

He told her everyone was selfish, it was human nature. What separated them was those who were brave enough to be honest about it, and the ones who cared too much about their image to be sincere.

He also told her that he thought getting the clan to talk more as part of the village rather than as a clan was a possibility, but it wouldn't be until the clansmen stopped feeling as though they were being taken advantage of and lied to.

She asked him if he thought there was anything that the clan could do first to gain more trust from the village and solve this problem.

He thought for a bit, and shook his head with a sigh. He had been trying.

What the small girl suggested next surprised him so much that he couldn't speak for the next few moments, and he had rubbed his face in exasperation at the sheer audacity of it.

It was incredibly naïve, with a next to zero chance of ever happening, but it was brilliant and he had to stare long and hard at the girl who was drawing lines between her notes to try and think up another situation. His next thought brought a small, almost unnoticeable smirk onto his face, and with it came the ridiculous decision to go ahead with the little girl's plan despite all his instincts screaming 'STUPID' at him.

' _Aiko, trust you to bring something like her into this world.'_

* * *

"Amaterasu-san."

Ama paused as she was exiting the Uchiha Police Headquarters and turned to see a familiar raven haired boy walking towards her.

"Itachi-sama." she greeted in slight surprise as she glanced at the serious expression on his young face. She lowered into a quick bow as an afterthought, just as Shisui had taught her, since apparently he was 'older' and 'the heir' and needed to be addressed with respect.

"I followed you here this morning." he told her bluntly, and she blanched. "I saw you climb into my father's office window."

She remained silent, wondering where he was going with this.

"You went in at dawn and didn't leave until now." he finally continued.

"You've been here this whole time?! It's almost noon!" she exclaimed.

"Precisely." little Itachi replied with a stern look. "What else could you have been doing apart from spying on my father's work?"

Amaterasu stifled a slightly exasperated chuckle. Trust another genius to stuff her into an awkward situation.

"I was doing work experience." she told him with a yawn. The short hours of sleep were catching up to her, but hopefully it looked like the 'work experience' bored her to death. They had decided to use this bluff during their meeting, just in case people were surprised at her being in his office, so he would know about it if anyone asked.

"Ah." came the small noise of understanding, followed by a complicated expression. She gave him a curious look.

"Why were you following me this morning anyway?" she asked.

"I saw you on top of our roof. You were being suspicious from the start." he told her blandly, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Nothing about my brother asking you to keep an eye on me?" she challenged with a tiny smirk.

"...That as well. It is my mission."

Ama chuckled good-naturedly and started walking along the path, knowing he would be a couple steps behind her. Now that she thought about it he must have done this a few times before, as there had been many instances where she thought she had sensed someone shadowing her, only to dismiss it. Why would anyone shadow a little girl anyway?

"I'm off to Kushina's apartment for the afternoon. Do you mind picking me up in the evening?" she queried, and it felt a little weird to ask someone she couldn't see, despite knowing he was there. "There's no real point in you waiting outside when you know I'm safe."

"...Shisui-san told me not to let you go there." Itachi said in a low tone, making her frown.

"She's expecting me." she said, a tad sharply, but it didn't stop him from appearing in front of her with a firm stare.

Wow, he took his 'orders' seriously then.

Heartbeat slowly increasing from the adrenaline that started coursing through her, she gave a grin before shifting through the handsigns for the kawarimi no jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) as fast as she could. She saw his eyes widen a fraction before she found herself further along the road, in the place of the wooden bucket at the bottom of an apple tree. Without wasting a second she sprinted off, casting out her senses in concentration.

This was the first time she had done this sort of evading exercise to be honest, and the first time she was testing Itachi's capabilities at almost six years old. She never used her shinobi skills to leave a situation, she usually ended up using words.

She felt his presence flicker at the edge of her sensing range and paused behind a tree, quickly performing the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) and having it run off in the direction she had been running in. She then compressed her chakra and remained as still as she could.

This was much more exciting than she thought it would be. She was enjoying shooting out these jutsu in a way that included planning and thinking tactically, rather than repeating them endlessly to perfect the E-rank techniques.

She forgot however that, although Itachi was still little, he was still miles ahead of her in training and had more experience in being a ninja than she had.

She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt wire looping around her, and it was only with instinct derived from Fugaku throwing things at her that she immediately jumped onto a branch, making the cable tighten around the bark. Itachi's impassive face appeared in front of her and she started once more, stupidly lashing out instead of thinking things through.

Thinking, she realised, was simply too time-consuming in these situations. You either had to make the time by distracting the opponent, like the Nara, or increase your thinking speed, like Minato. She was beginning to respect both a lot more.

She attacked, and realised that Itachi seemed to be having concerns himself about how to take her in without hurting her. He was simply avoiding her accurate but slow strikes and she was pleased that the katas seemed to come smoothly from muscle memory. Those repeats seemed to be worth it after all.

Then Itachi grabbed her wrist and twisted, flinging her none too gently off the branch.

She managed to surprise him by grabbing the branch with her other arm, yanking her limb out of his grip and forcing him to let go or risk dislocating her shoulder.

She now knew for sure that not only was he going easy on her, he was also trying very hard not to harm her. She was going to use that to her advantage.

She leapt back onto the path, running straight towards her target - the market. She quickly returned to compressing her chakra as tightly as she could just as she entered the busily packed area and zigzagged between the large wagons and adults, using her small size and speed to her advantage. It was here that she realised the dodging practice came back in handy - she now had a bit of a sixth sense on how low to duck or how far to lean when sprinting past objects.

Ama began to wonder how ninjas could improve their sensory skills. She couldn't focus on sensing, running and compressing her chakra all at once, and it was only when Itachi was basically on top of her that she realised he was there. She stopped and ducked under his arm, using chakra to stick her to the ground before shooting back into the opposite direction. This time she leapt behind a food stall and scampered off into a back alley while a clone shot off into the distance once more, and she watched in anticipation as Itachi followed the clone for a full second before stopping and looking around, realising that he had been tricked.

How did he figure out so quickly? It wasn't like he had the sharingan yet.

With a silent curse she whirled around and sprinted before slamming into yes, you guessed it. Itachi. She was now being held like a badly behaving puppy, by the back of her collar. She glared at the little boy with a huff.

"How did you know that was a bunshin?" she asked incredulously, pleased that she wasn't out of breath despite all that running. (In another world, she knew she would have been panting, feeling the strain of her lungs and the ache of her muscles). Itachi looked very unimpressed.

"No shadows, no footprints." he replied rather curtly.

Of course. It was midday, so there was no chance she wouldn't be casting a shadow. She quickly slammed her hands together but almost immediately they were held in firm grip. Itachi was staring challengingly at her.

Challengingly, she realised. He wasn't angry at all. Maybe this was fun for him too, or at least more so than all the other times when he would just follow her around. She usually spent her free time in the library, in her room or training with his dad. Not particularly exciting, especially for a little kid.

She grinned at this revelation and her thoughts started whirring.

With a sharp twist and a swing, she was gone once more. She was pretty sure he let her go anyway.

Maybe it would be useful to start weight training early after all. She remembered being quite adamant to Fugaku that she didn't want to start it until she had stopped growing, so she wouldn't stunt her growth, but now that she thought about it she was really going to need that extra strength. Itachi was _a lot_ stronger than her already, and it wasn't just because of his size.

That and the fact that bodies here were a lot different than back home. It wasn't something she realised immediately but it became evident after a while. In her old world it would have been impossible to throw kunai and shuriken with such accuracy, moving their body with so much precision, without trembling from exertion or flinching from wounds. Here a body was not only much stronger but the conscious control over it was almost absolute. Perhaps it was to do with chakra, perhaps it was because - you know, it was a another _world,_ she didn't know.

She felt his presence inside in her range once more, and racked her brains for more tactics. She wasn't going to lose, especially when Itachi already had so many handicaps.

Ama made it to the Kushina's home in the end, huffing and puffing and looking slightly banged up. To be fair, it really wasn't Itachi's fault, it was from when she crashed into a tree because she had been running with her head looking in another direction. Hopefully nobody saw her or she'd never live it down.

They had been going at it for at least three hours, and had been pretty much all over the village. She only found the opportunity to finally get away when someone approached Itachi and engaged him in conversation. Itachi, being a polite little boy, responded as expected.

Kakashi opened the door, and he was far too good of a ninja to show amusement at her disgruntled appearance. Instead, he let her in and double locked the door before leading her to where Kushina was sprawled, belly huge, on a large couch.

"Su-chan! You made it! Did you come from training?" she grinned brightly, and Ama found herself smiling fondly at the redhead. She knew it was difficult to be so cheery when your due date was in a few days but Kushina was quite a woman.

"I had a run in with Itachi-san." she told her with a sigh before gently lowering herself down on the couch next to her.

Another thing Ama loved about her new body was that she could fit just like a child into an adult's arms. It gave her a sense of security, and she found herself being quite a clingy child when it came to Kushina, who was the person Ama was most comfortable with in the world. She was quite cuddly with Shisui too, but only recently. She decided that it was a measure of how much she trusted that person.

However, seeing how big Kushina was and how much discomfort she was probably in already, Ama gave her a quick hug and a kiss before trotting over to lean on Kakashi. He had been leaning on the doorframe, but with an insistent tug he found himself sitting on the floor with a child in his arms. Ama snuggled contently until she was comfortable and decided that she trusted Kakashi too. Kushina was definitely amused.

"You don't want to practice calligraphy today then?" she chuckled, and Ama nodded tiredly. Playing with Itachi had been fun, but adding the physical tiredness with her current mental strain she felt exhausted.

"I'm going to take a nap, if that's alright." she mumbled. Kushina seemed surprised.

"Alright Su."

She was out within two seconds.

* * *

Amaterasu blinked blearily awake and took a few moments to adjust to her new surroundings. She was in fact cuddled up against the comforting presence of Kushina, red wisps of hair draped over her, clutched in her fingers.

There were soft snores coming from somewhere above her, and looking outside she saw that it was getting rather dark. Her eyes swept the room and she stifled a shout at the two masked men by the door. One of them turn their head towards her before disappearing and soon after a blond headed Hokage entered with a tired smile.

"Hello Su-chan." he whispered before gently lifting her out of his wife's grasp. Ama clung to his neck with one arm, rubbing her eye with the other and yawned, waving sleepily at the guards.

He settled her down on their couch in the living room, where paper was currently covering the floor with what seemed like seals. Ama immediately perked.

"Are you making seals?" she asked in awe. Kushina had rarely done it in front of her, but it had fascinated her. Where she had been from, the ink stayed still on the paper. Not here. Minato answered with a fond grin.

"I just need to let you know that we'll need to move Shina out in a few hours." he said quietly, sitting down next to her and shifting her onto his lap. Ama blanched.

Of course. They weren't going to let her give birth here.

Amaterasu then had a serious moment of uncertainty.

' _If I wanted to save them now, I could.'_

She looked up into Minato's blue eyes and remembered a similar pair, but Naruto had turned out fine. He had turned out extraordinarily well all things considered. It was just... she had grown attached too. It hurt.

What was the difference in trying to save her blood brother and trying to save the closest thing she had to a mum or an older sister in this world? They... weren't just characters anymore. They weren't alive simply so that they could die and give Naruto a sadder childhood - they were real people now.

What right did she have to let them die based on something she watched as a TV programme in her _previous lifetime?_

Minato must have sensed something was wrong because he gently began to stroke her hair. Against her will, Ama's eyes welled up with tears, and the blond stiffened.

"Ama-chan, it's only for three days. We'll be back with a bumbling Naruto-otouto, don't you worry. You're going to be a great nee-san, aren't you?"

"Okay." she whispered.

It _hurt_.

She was this close. _This_ close to telling him, but she had weighed the pros and cons before. She knew the future would be easier for her to manipulate if it remained closer to the canon.

And yet, her goal up till this point was to prevent the Uchiha clan's demise...to keep herself alive. It had only just hit her that the _people_ she knew, not the characters, were going to die in less than three days because she was worried about her own survival.

She detested herself.

She was doing it for her own selfish reasons.

She was letting two lovely, accomplished, amazing _parents_ die...

"Otouto..." she breathed, forcing back the tears to produce a wet smile. "I'm excited."

'I'm sorry.' A suffocating feeling surrounded her heart, and her chest _hurt._

"Ama-chan, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

'I'm _so sorry.'_ She wanted to scream.

"No, I'm fine. Is Naruto going to have red hair do you think?"

Fugaku was right. Everyone was selfish, the worst ones were the ones that lied about it.

It hurt.

* * *

 **Clarification of ages at his point:**

 **Sasuke - 0**

 **Amaterasu - 3 (almost four)**

 **Itachi - 5**

 **Shisui - 7 (almost 8)**

 **Kakashi - 17**

 **Ama has control issues. She's used to everything going her way if she put effort in it... but here she's put in a ridiculous amount of effort and it's not working and she's freaking out - it might seems annoying but thats her personality. Aaand we love her for it ;) Aw man can you believe - Ama's sitting back and letting things happen without her interfering despite what she knows will happen. What do you think about that decision?**

 **I guess she wants to keep the future as close to the anime as possible, so that she feels more in control and will know more about what will happen. Yeah, she's selfish, but she's also scared and this is how she's coping - by making plans, following plans, manipulating people and just being her little stressed out self.**

 **Ama's goal up till this point has always been to save the Uchiha clan's demise, not because she cares for it, but because she wants to survive. More about this later!**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **DO Y'ALL THINK WE CAN GET TO 100 REVIEWS WITH THIS CHAP THO. CAN WE THO. THAT WOULD MAKE MY SUMMER OMG!**

 **:* Much kisses. You wouldn't believe what all your notifs do to me. Writers start writing because they have an idea - the reason they pursue it is because of their readers' support. Y'all are making this story with me, don't try and escape ;).**

 **Thanks Radiopoisoning you absolute bae love ya as always my saviour xox**

 **EDIT: 12/07/17 - ages!**


	9. Nine

'She was right.'

A strange mix of despair, disbelief and awe surged within him as Fugaku Uchiha stared up at the gargantuan figure in the distance. It was tearing up the village with its thick, _burning_ , chakra stuffing up the air and he could hear the chokes of the overwhelmed younger shinobi around him. With his pulse beginning to pound in his ears, his chakra began flooding his coils in a way that it hadn't had to since the war. He shouted orders to the clansmen that had congregated on the roof of the Konoha Keimu Butai (Konoha Military Police Force) Headquarters, sensing sharpening as he snapped to attention.

"I want every Uchiha Jōnin to go and await orders from either Yondaime-sama or Sandaime-sama, understood? Listen to _no one else -_ that's an order! Chūnin, with me! Get genin and civilians to the shelters!" he barked, flitting off back to street level where the civilians were beginning to flow to the streets after abandoning their homes.

"The Uchiha clan stands with Konoha!" he roared. "Protect the civilians and direct them to the shelters! This is _our_ village, where _we_ reside. Protect it!"

The answering affirmative was a lot stronger than he had anticipated, and slightly eased the discomfort in his chest. A sudden explosion caused his head to whip around in fear, and his eyes scanned the affected area. Smoke was rising from the Uchiha compound, and it was likely to be the first of many. His stomach dropped, and burning tendrils of rage began to spread throughout his body.

That was _his_ clan. His family flashed through his mind as another chakra construct slammed into the compound.

Mikoto. Itachi. Sasuke.

Amaterasu.

A very familiar chakra flared and his eyes snapped to the roof where his wife gave him a brief nod, dressed in her kunoichi gear. It had been a while since he had seen her in jōnin attire, she had retired after she became pregnant with Itachi. She flickered out of sight to join the others and he had to stop himself from following her.

'Mikoto is strong, she'll be fine. Worry about your job instead.' he firmly reminded himself. She survived a war before, she would survive this too.

Time passed, during which he watched carefully and directed the civilians to be escorted through the safest routes, blocking the worries from his mind.

"Father!" came a shout from the crowd.

Itachi jogged up to him, looking slightly roughed up, with Sasuke safely tucked under his arms and a girl by his side who was not Amaterasu. Anger peaked once more.

They had almost got his sons.

"I knew you'd be alright." he said, masking the pure _relief_ he felt at the sight of his children under a stern expression. "Get to the shelters, quickly."

He very deliberately ignored the hurt radiating from his son at his curt words. He would deal with it later.

Where was Ama?

He was distracted from his thoughts when an ANBU appeared silently behind him.

"Fugaku-sama. Danzo-sama orders that you retrieve your jōnin from the front lines. The Uchiha Police Force should focus their troops in escorting the civilians to safety." he murmured lowly, and Fugaku very carefully did not react.

' _We have to be seen actively defending against the Kyuubi. If the attacker is seen to have the Sharingan and none of the Uchiha were part of the defense, people are going to misunderstand.'_

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we're facing the Kyūbi at the moment. My jōnin will be wasted escorting the civilians, and we are moving them at maximum speed anyway." he murmured back, and the shock radiating off the ANBU was evident.

"You are _directly_ disobeying Danzo-sama's orders."

Fugaku turned slightly to glare frostily at him with intimidating crimson orbs.

'Try me.' he challenged silently. The ANBU hesitated before disappearing. Just as he left, the chakra he had been keening for finally arrived.

Ama wheezed as she stopped a few meters in front of him, jerking her head left before running off once more. Fugaku quickly notified his second-in-command of his leave and disappeared.

Once he appeared in front of her, he realised with a start that she was hurt, but he realised her injury wasn't as bad as it looked. Just a gash on her head that was bleeding down her face. She must've been close to one of the explosions in the compound.

"You need to get me to where the Kyuubi is _now._ " The slightly hysteric tone caught him off guard.

He blinked, and despite himself, he felt faintly amused. Trust little Ama to surprise him in this kind of situation.

"Are you concussed?" he asked her quickly.

She snarled at him before turning and running off again at an impressive speed, but judging from the chakra that was bleeding off her form, she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long.

"Going to the Kyuubi is not a plan." he stated.

"Then get me to the Hokage mountain." she snapped.

Fugaku scowled before scooping her onto his back and disappearing in a series of shunshin. He had to direct back a couple of Uchiha jōnin who had been called away from the Kyūbi scene by the ANBU, but apart from that they made it up to the mountains within a few minutes. It was there that he gently dropped Ama off, noticing but not mentioning how the girl stumbled. They shared a look at the sounds of fighting, and Fugaku signed to her to stay still, silently reminding her of their deal. She seemed conflicted, eyes darting unsure between the evident fighting and her clan head.

A small smirk found its way to his lips as he recollected their conversation just the night before.

 _"Are you strong?"_

 _"...What?"_

 _"Is the clan head chosen by heritage or strength?"_

 _The indignant glint in his eyes must have portrayed something because she shrugged._

 _"Just checking."_

He flickered off, appearing behind the attacker engaged with the Yondaime and swiping at him with a sudden burst of speed. The attacker dodged, and Fugaku wedged himself between his Hokage and the threat. A quick scan showed him that Minato had put some kind of large seal on him.

"Fugaku Uchiha."

"Uchiha-san?"

The two voices were surprised, he could tell. To be honest, if it hadn't been for Ama, this sort of thing would never had happened, so he understood their reactions. His eyes narrowed.

"You possess our eyes, you even recognise me, and yet you are no Uchiha." he stated coldly, flashing through hand signs to the Hokage behind his back.

 _Civilian. 3 o'clock. 250 metres. Remain._

The attacker was silent, chakra rippling in... unease? He really hadn't thought the clan head would have shown up here, of all places.

"I am more Uchiha than you Senju slaves." came the reply from the masked man (Kamen no Otoko).

"Why so nervous then?" Fugaku asked quietly, eyes scanning and trying to narrow down the possibilities of who the unknown Uchiha was from his body measurements.

"It's over." Minato told him, his voice chilling. "You are separated from the Kyūbi and have been wounded."

Fugaku stilled. Ama was right, even to the last detail. There really had been an attacker with the sharingan controlling the beast.

"It's quite a sharingan you have there. Let's see if I know who you are... Naka? Taiko?"

There was no response, so he continued to his last, most unlikely name. All his research had come to this point, the names of the Uchiha that had not been cremated were more than he thought, but still not too many. Apart from Naka and Taiko, there was only one more that could potentially have this build.

"Or maybe...Obito?"

The air chilled, and he heard Minato's breath hitch. Using the split second of shock from the unknown shinobi in front of him, Fugaku sped through hand signs.

' _Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique)'_

As the column of fire blossomed in front of him, he pumped chakra to his eyes and unveiled the second stage of his Kekkei Genkai for the third time in his life. He turned and locked eyes with Minato's surprised gaze, feeling the sharp stab of pain in his left eye at the activation of the strongest genjutsu he knew.

' _Tsukuyomi_.'

* * *

Amaterasu was in pain. A lot of it. Her head still throbbed from when the explosion made her crash face-first into a piece of concrete, but she wasn't complaining. That explosion was why she was able to carry out the plan.

 _ **[FLASHBACK begin]**_

She had been in the training grounds just outside the compound, throwing around some weapons to try and get rid of her restlessness and focus on something other than her final conversation with the clan head, when her instincts told her something wasn't right. She had tried to cast out her senses and felt nothing, but was still uneasy. Unable to write it off as paranoia, she left the training grounds as fast as she could without seeming suspicious, and just managed to reach the outskirts of the Uchiha grounds before she was attacked.

And by attacked, she literally meant _attacked._

Two masked figures appeared, leaping at her from both sides and she moved clumsily while fumbling for a kunai. They didn't pause, changing their directory and running at her once more. She only had about half a second to take in their sizes before she bolted off, sloppily boosting her speed with chakra - she knew her chakra control wasn't as good as it could have been, forcing her to use more than double the chakra needed, but it was either that or getting caught. She hightailed it to the rooftops, because even though there was less cover, it was more likely that a ninja would sense her distress and come to her aid.

Her pursuers were small, definitely not adults but still larger than her, probably around Shisui's age if she had to guess. Their black outfits and masks screamed _Ne (_ _Root_ or _Foundation)_ but at that time she was genuinely so appalled at the fact that she was being assaulted minutes before the potential Kyūbi attack that she ignored it completely.

It was only a few seconds before they caught up to her, and Ama felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She abruptly changed direction the next time her feet touched the roof and was promptly rewarded by a resounding _thud_ behind her, making her heartbeat increase even more. That sounded quite like a kunai being slammed into where she had just been.

Her instincts however hadn't been enough to save her from the foot that slammed into her back, launching her forward and making her body strain and almost fold around it. She hit the ground awfully, rolling painfully on the roof before falling in between two buildings and landing on her front two meters below. She gasped for air, being unable to breathe, and couldn't do anything for a good few seconds, before she felt the iron grips of her attackers on her arms dragging her upright.

It was then that a muffling, suffocating chakra suddenly saturated the air and Amaterasu whimpered once more before recognising the roar.

Kyūbi.

As soon as she felt the stiffening forms of her kidnappers she wrenched her arms out of their grip, dislocating one of her shoulders in the process. She barely managed to reached the street before the building in front of her exploded.

The next time she woke up her head was throbbing, and a warm substance was flowing down the side of her face. She rubbed at it to get it out of her eyes before she was up again. Slowly. At the pain in her shoulders, she took a moment to bite her bottom lip, squeeze back her tears and snap it back into place using the technique she had used so many times as a doctor.

Boy was it an experience doing it to yourself.

She had to take a few more moments to collect herself and let the pain fade a bit more before she had leapt off to find Fugaku.

 _ **[FLASHBACK end]**_

Now she had just heard a similar sound to a flamethrower and felt a _massive_ wave of heat wash over her and her mouth dried, knowing that Fugaku had engaged with Tobi. Obito.

She never found out if Fugaku, by reviewing old reports, managed to find any Uchiha that could've defected or a Sharingan that remained unaccounted for, and she was only able to question this briefly in her mind before yellow entered her vision and a firm hand muffled her shocked scream.

Minato.

"Kushina?" she whispered hoarsely, and his blue eyes were guarded as he scooped her into his arms, evidently scanning and taking note of her injuries.

"Kushina?" she repeated more insistently, pleadingly, forcing back tears as he unknowingly put pressure on her back. Minato stared carefully into her eyes for a second longer before murmuring.

"I need you to get yourself and Naruto as far as you can from the shelter, okay? I'm going to bring the Kyūbi there but don't worry, you'll be safe. I promise."

Understanding shone in her black orbs, determination flowing through her in waves. In the next moment they found themselves by a bed and Minato was gone once more, so Ama leapt forward, picked up Naruto and sprinted off, ignoring Kushina's weak shouts. She ran outside the shelter and kept running until she reached the edge of the forest, trying her best not to jostle the newborn too much and keep him as warm as she could.

She knew Minato would bring the Kyūbi here, she knew he was going to seal it but she didn't know how much Fugaku had told him, if anything. It was only then that she realised that she was still too close to the clearing and she blasted chakra into her muscles once more.

However, in the next moment there was another explosion, except this one was much larger and, although she had managed to put some distance between them and the house, the gale it caused made her fly off her feet - her only thought being the _baby_. She clutched him tightly, turning in the air in an attempt to land on her back and protect the newborn from the impact. Oh why did Minato trust her with a newborn, she was going to kill the main character before he was an hour old, why did -

They slammed into something but it was softer than the ground or a tree trunk, and arms wrapped around them both before the surroundings changed once more.

"What is Ama doing here?" someone asked weakly. A woman?

Ama slowly opened her eyes at the weak voice and her stomach sank, horror plastering itself onto her face.

Kushina. Darling, bright, cheerful Kushina looked awful. The anime could never portray this, and Ama was once again blasted by the fact that _this was reality._ Her face was so sickly pale, with dark shadows under her usually shining eyes and blood trickling down the sides of her mouth.

From the bruising around her exposed abdomen and the rate at which she was losing blood, and probably chakra, the doctor in Ama knew.

This woman was going to die.

"Minato... I can still do it." she murmured, and Ama's heart _squeezed. '_ No.' she wanted to say. 'Stop. You're hurt.'

But they were shinobi.

Minato slowly lowered them down, but Amaterasu was deaf to his gentle coaxing to release Naruto. She kept a firm grip on him, feeling comforted by the fact that he was grabbing her shirt in return. It reminded her of her days in the obstetrics and gynaecology ward - this was just a newborn child, only minutes old.

She watched, tears filling her vision as chakra spiked in the woman in front of her and the kongō fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains) - how was such a thing possible in that state? - shot into the ground and wove around the Kyūbi, tightening and preventing it from moving.

They were weak, but they were there, and there was now a impenetrable barrier around them.

Naruto began to cry, and Ama snapped out of her daze, turning to catch Minato's grim expression. She knew why he had brought her here now. Fugaku _had_ talked to him.

"He told you." she breathed. The blond Hokage nodded once, slowly going through handsigns, and summoned a ritual altar.

A low, thunderous growl made Ama tense up, looking up at the huge beast in front of her. She paled when she realised that the Bijū was staring straight at her.

The beast _roared_ and Kushina hacked blood as the beast strained. Ama's eyes widened.

"No, he's not going to seal you I promise!" she called quickly, her telltale sign of being pressured coming out _now of all times_ as she continued to blabber. "It was an accident to bring me here, I'm just a spectator I swear!"

Kushina screamed and spasmed.

" _Please_ stop moving Kurama!" she yelled desperately, handing Naruto over and running towards the beast. She didn't notice Minato's shout, nor did she notice the burning feeling of the Kyūbi's raw chakra intensify as she got closer. All she noticed was that miraculously, Kurama stilled.

 **"What...did you call me?!"** he hissed quietly, and despite the raw heat that was surrounding her Ama felt chills running down her spine. The slitted red eyes locked on her form, seething with absolute fury as she came closer.

"Shukaku, Matatabi." With each step she took, another name escaped her lips. "Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken."

The _hot, demonic_ chakra was shivering with his agitation.

"Chōmei, Gyūki, and you, Kurama" she finished under her breath once she was by his paw. She knew he could hear her. The beast was completely still and there was such silence that she could hear Kushina's wheezing from across the field.

It only lasted a few moments, and it was stifling. Ama hadn't planned this. For once in her life, her mind was blank. She had no idea what was going on, going to happen, and she wasn't thinking about it. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Seeing Kushina like that had snapped something inside of her, and now she didn't care.

If something went wrong here and Ama died, at that point she wouldn't have cared.

This woman with a heart of gold, who was unafraid to speak her mind, who had caressed her unborn child every day, looking forward to a life with him, was going to die.

And it was her fault. Who was she to decide that the best scenario would be for these parents to die? Who was she to judge that the baby would turn out fine?

What _idiot_ gave her this sort of responsibility and choice? What _godforsaken bastard_ decided to put her in a world that she knew one future of?!

But who cared? These deaths be the first of many after all. That's what a life as a shinobi offered her. It was either kill or be killed.

If Ama had been thinking rationally, she would have questioned the turn her thoughts had taken. She would have noticed the twinging in her eyes, and she would have noticed the tensing of the large beast in front of her.

Instead, she began to appreciate the power that her knowledge gave her. That's why she wasn't dead yet. What was the use of creating bonds in this world if they were going to be wrenched from you anyway? Focusing on that distanced her from her own body, and she was numb all over.

So she didn't really feel it when the paw next to her flicked towards her, nor did she feel the burn as a single claw dragged a deep line of fire through her side, slicing through bones and flesh alike.

She didn't hear the screams from across the field.

She didn't feel the scream that came from her own lips.

She didn't feel anything.

* * *

 **Something's changed with Ama, and I'm not sure if it's for the better. To be completely honest with you I'm not too pleased with this chapter, I think I could have done better. I'll come back and fix it later...but do tell me if you think something's not done v well - Simone did a fab job of making it so much better than what it originally was though! THANKS AS ALWAYS3**

 **Ama's not very well in the head is she? What do you think about Minato's decision?**

 **Do you like the format used for techniques and names?**

 **Hope you enjoy xx**

 **EDIT: 25/10/16**


	10. Ten

_"Wow Amaterasu-chan, you're walking already? That's faster than Itachi-kun you lil' genius you!"_

 _A wry grin spread across the baby's pudgy face, reaching out for her red locks. As always, the woman didn't complain no matter how hard she yanked at it._

* * *

 _"Ama-chan!"_

 _Ama turned to see twinkling grey-violet eyes and a flash of red before warm arms embraced her small body, the scent of pine surrounding her comfortingly. It had been a week since the refurbishment of the orphanage and a full few months since the last time she had seen the redhead._

 _"I haven't seen you in ages you little rascal!" she mumbled into her shoulder, before adding quietly. "You must have been scared all alone, ne? I'm sorry baby."_

 _"K-Kushina." she stuttered, surprise welling up inside her at the sincerity of the woman._

 _"Hey, you want to do some calligraphy with me today? It's been so long hasn't it!? Minato's home from the war finally, so you can meet him sometime too. I've missed you a lot ya know? You better have missed me too! Hey, look how skinny you've gotten! Shall we get some of your favourite tempura on our way home?" she continued, walking down the street with Ama now in her arms._

 _Amaterasu had never felt safer and wanted than she had in that moment._

* * *

 _Despite being the leader of one of the five strongest military villages in this world, Minato Namikaze was currently kneeled in front of her with his dishevelled blond hair and casual clothes, gently cleaning the scrapes on her legs._

 _"You're the Hokage." she whispered in awe, and he chuckled warmly._

 _"I am." he replied, glancing up at her with those cerulean eyes before they crinkled into a genuine smile. "And as a citizen of Konoha, you're part of my family."_

 _"Oi Minato, she's mine!" came a jokingly angry shout from the kitchen, and soon after came the woman herself, brandishing a ladle with narrowed eyes._

 _Ama couldn't resist a wide smile at the sight of her._

 _"Come on, Su-chan. You're going to have to choose now. Who do you like better: me or Minato?"_

 _Despite herself, Ama giggled._

 _"Of course I like you more, Shina. You're like my mother." she said sincerely. She deliberately tried to smother the hurt at the way the two adults stiffened at that statement, but Kushina abandoned the ladle to scoop her gently into her arms and plant a loud kiss on her forehead._

 _"Damn right am I your mother, and I'll always be here for you if you need me, ya got it?_ _" she said cheerily and whisked her off to show her how she made the soup._

 _She didn't realise how much Ama's heart hurt at those words._

* * *

 _"So what I don't get is how chakra pulses can be inked out onto the floor...but just with chakra. But then it can do stuff. But it's ink. Or is it chakra?" the confused Uchiha mumbled, glaring down at her blueberry flavoured shaved ice in frustration._

 _"Oh come on! Forget about it for once, we've come out of the house for the first time in ages!" She caught the child's pointed look and corrected herself. "Well, I've come out of the house for the first time in ages."_

 _"I just don't understand." Ama whined. Kushina's chuckles faded, before she quietly asked in a sombre voice "Hey Su-chan, no matter how smart you get, promise you won't forget about little old me, alright?"_

 _Amaterasu frowned around a spoonful of her treat, staring at the thoughtful redhead curiously._

 _"You're pretty big to forget, Shina." she replied with a wry smile._

 _"Oi! It's the baby 'ttebane! I'm not big!" the woman protested, immediately wrapping her arms around her abdomen protectively with a mock glare. Ama laughed and the jinchuriki's face softened._

 _"You should do that less and less nowadays, Su." she told her quietly. At the child's enquiring gaze, she ruffled her shoulder-length, curly, raven locks. "But it's okay! I vow to make you laugh at least once a day until the day I die 'ttebane!"_

* * *

 _Ama felt the redhead's gaze on her as the she prodded her swollen stomach warily, trying to feel little Naruto's kicks. Despite trying hard not to, Ama's face fell. She knew what this meant._

 _"Hey baby, what's wrong?" Kushina murmured softly, lifting up the child into her arms despite her probably very sore back._

 _Ama spent a few moments just scanning her face, lost in her thoughts, before she reached out a small hand to the woman's cheek gently._

 _"Are you excited?" she asked her weakly, and received a bright grin in response._

 _"Of course I am, dattebane! You won't be so lonely anymore with Naruto around. You're going to have to help me when we first bring him back, as I'll be too tired to do anything! You've gotta stick with me though, no leaving me for months at a time, got it?"_

 _"Got it." the little Uchiha replied in a whisper._

* * *

Pale eyelids parted to show dead, coal black eyes framed by dark thick lashes.

She didn't move for a long time, just blinking and breathing mechanically, because that's what she knew she needed to do. She felt empty and numb, but she was alive.

Alive. Did she deserve to be alive?

An image of a laughing redhead flashed through her mind.

 _No. Definitely not._

A few minutes, maybe hours, passed and something by her side that she hadn't noticed before shifted, and two arms stretched up to show the face of a young boy. Shisui.

It took a few seconds as he blinked blearily at her before he focused on her face, and his face froze in shock before crumpling as he started crying silently. Two hands pressed desperately against the sides of her face, and Ama's heart tugged at the raw emotion he was showing.

"Amaterasu. Imouto." he mumbled, wiping his tears with a sleeve before he disappeared, probably to summon a nurse.

Everything was a blur after that. People came and went, signed forms, checked her wounds, remedied her drugs and soon it was quiet again. They didn't seem too bothered about her health despite the fact that she wouldn't talk. The only movement she had tried and succeeded in was gripping her brother's hand. That was all she could manage at that present time, and she was alright with that.

A few days passed, Shisui had been removed from her side, and she eventually began to set her mind working again. Slowly. She recognised that she was in a private ward of the hospital, and that there were intricate seals spreading out around her bed, a stark contrast with the white tiled floor.

A sudden image of a huge beast and the feeling of its chakra washed over her, and she shuddered, realising that she was hyperventilating and in pain as she shifted her injury. Immediately a masked ANBU appeared, and it only took her a second to recognise the tuft of silver hair on top of the mask. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as she wheezed, promptly disappearing once she had calmed down.

So she wasn't alone. She knew that if she was in her right state of mind she would have felt comforted by that. But she wasn't. She didn't want anyone to fill her in on anything that had happened yet. Not knowing, being naive was a good feeling. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. She didn't know of any problems, so she wasn't going to address them. She didn't need to worry about them.

It didn't stop the pain though.

Torturous bliss.

 _'What have I done?'_

* * *

"She won't talk."

"I've noticed."

"It's been three weeks since she's woken up."

"I've noticed that too."

"She was unconscious for _fifteen days_!"

"Yes I noti-"

" _Senpai!"_

 _"_ Sorry."

Kakashi Hatake removed the porcelain mask from his face and ruffled out his hair, sighing as he leant back onto the mountainside. The Uchiha he had slowly become quite fond of was sitting with his back ramrod straight, looking out over the village from their perch on the Second Hokage's head. Kakashi knew Shisui was hurting, but he wasn't sure what to do about it. It wasn't something you could just patch up, give a bit of time to rest and spring back from. This was emotional hurt, something he knew quite well.

It ate up at you from the inside and he knew that Shisui was blaming himself for everything that had happened to his sister. Telling him it wasn't his fault or getting him a therapist wasn't going to help. The only way to heal him would be to get little Ama back to normal...but that was seeming very unlikely.

The girl was in her own world. She wouldn't eat or even move most of the times that he was watching over her on his shifts. She spent her time staring blankly at a spot on the wall directly in front of her, ignoring anyone that tried to speak to her. Sneaking a look at his frazzled kohai he sighed.

Kakashi had had quite enough of sitting back and letting things happen.

"Training's cancelled. Go to your sister."

Perhaps it was time he started being more proactive.

* * *

Jiraiya the Gama Sennin (Toad Sage), member of the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja)...was very confused.

"And why on earth would you want to do that?" he asked slowly, with a fake grin. The man in front of him looked as impassive and as cold as ever.

"The Uchiha head directly disobeyed my orders. If that isn't treason I don't know what is." the elder replied smoothly, thumb brushing along the top of his cane (that Jiraiya knew he _definitely_ didn't need).

"That clan head is dead now, and four other Uchiha jōnin were lost whilst defending the village. Surely we should be grateful for that, rather than moving them to the furthest corner from the village and surrounding them with surveillance? " the Sage mused.

"I agree with Danzō-sama."

Jiraiya's head whipped around to stare at his student seated behind the desk. His eyes were as blue as ever, but the dark circles under them dulled their usual shine. He knew that despite performing the sealing of the Kyūbi in two bits, he still had to return to the office the day after the attack to deal with the aftermath.

He hadn't even been able to grieve the loss of his wife. Jiraiya had never imagined that he would miss such a catastrophe, nor that he had been so far from the village and so deep in his business that he only arrived three weeks after it. Watching how his student was acting, it seemed as though that had been a mistake.

"Minato." Jiraiya intoned warningly.

"We will have a proper discussion for this during our next meeting. If you would excuse us, I will see you then." the curtness of the statement seemed so unlike Minato that Jiraiya felt very uneasy. He caught the swift signal for the hospital and frowned slightly before following the Hokage's shunshin.

"Before you ask, the Uchiha had foreknowledge of the attack that they didn't share."

The white-haired man stared at the blond, who was now walking briskly off into the hospital.

"What?" he asked incredulously. "They had _foreknowledge?_ What does that even mean?! You said the attack -" he stopped himself at the sight of all the ninja around him - this was undoubtedly confidential information. "We'll discuss this later." he muttered instead, frown now settled permanently on his face.

"We're visiting the source now."

What.

They walked purposefully to the top floor of the hospital, the one reserved for special isolated cases, before reaching a heavily manned door. The hallway seemed empty but of course Jiraiya could feel the number of men stationed around here. He did not miss how his student hesitated at the door and thumped a large hand on his shoulder before ruffling his hair.

"Minato." he murmured quietly, meeting his eyes. "We're talking later."

There was a pause before a very small nod, and Jiraiya remembered when the shoulder that he was leaning his hand on had been much smaller, and the face looking up at him hadn't been so grief-stricken.

"Treat her like an adult until she gets used to you." Minato mumbled as his sensei put his hand on the handle. "Or she'll treat you like a child."

With a twinge in his heart, he watched Jiraiya slide open the door and shut it behind them.

What the Sage saw in front of him made everything click.

Isolation, child, seals - this was the second jinchuriki...but the foreknowledge bit he had to investigate further.

He watched carefully, however the only reason he could tell that the little Uchiha was alive was because she was blinking once every now and then. There hadn't been a reaction to his entrance.

"Jiraiya the Toad Sage is here!" he bellowed, grinning widely as he loomed over the hospital bed. The girl definitely jumped, eyes wide, but they were lifeless and seemed to contemplate him for a while before sliding back to staring back in front of her.

"Sensei, I really don't think that was necessary." came a tired sigh from the doorway, and what was _interesting_ was that the child's back straightened like a rod, head whipping around in shock. Her mouth gaped open and shut but no sound was coming out, although her expression seemed to be a strange mix of horror, surprise and...hope?

"Now now Minato, you can't say that I haven't taught you to make an impression when you first meet a lady..." he glanced back at the child dwarfed by the hospital bed. "...no matter how little the lady might be."

Another tired sigh filled the room and Jiraiya took in the ruffled form of his favourite student in a new light.

"K-Kushina...?" came a hoarse voice from behind him and the Toad Sage's heart plummeted at the pure hope in that word. He saw how Minato's face shadowed dangerously at the name for a split second and he decided to drop the act. Clearly the time for jokes was over.

"We're going to look at your seal, and then we'll talk." he said calmly.

There was complete silence as both teacher and student examined the expanded seal. There were a few amendments made, a couple tweaks added but they still worked with minimal talk.

Jiraiya knew that Minato was being overworked. He had his duties as Hokage, dealing with the aftermath of the attack, but he also had a newborn son to look after. That was two full-time jobs already, and yet he still made time to see this girl personally.

"You've heard about Fugaku Uchiha, haven't you?" he asked just as they finished recompressing the seal.

There was a pause, then a barely noticeable nod. She was staring into the opposite wall with such fervour that it seemed as though she wanted to sink into it.

"Who's keeping you updated?" he asked again.

There was another, longer pause, and Jiraiya remembered the hoarseness of her small voice. She probably hadn't spoken a word since she had gotten up.

"My brother." came the whisper.

"Shisui, is it?" he mused aloud. Another small nod.

"Well. Minato here is pretty busy, so we'll get on with it." Jiraiya sighed, before locking eyes with the girl. The blackness of the irises caught him off guard. They were haunted and felt a lot older than they should have been.

It couldn't be helped - this girl had seen a lot.

"You are now the Kyūbi's jinchuriki." he started, scanning her face for any reaction. "But only half of it. This is an _S-rank_ village secret, so I trust that you know what it means, yes? This is _very_ serious."

He missed the sad smile on Minato's face at that statement.

"You have been given the Yang half, while another has been given the Yin."

"Naruto." she intervened blankly. She wanted them to know that she knew... well, there went that piece of top secret information. With a brief nod, he continued.

"You'll be heavily monitored for the next few weeks, simply so that we know that the seal isn't destabilising. It was a risk to seal it into you but you seem to be coping with it well considering your strangely large chakra reserves and strong pathways."

"My pathways were made from my mother's chakra." came the monotone reply and he blanched, just for a fraction of a second.

"Right. That's unusual. Anyway. Don't use chakra until we give the all clear." he tried awkwardly, sharing a glance with his student, who looked like he was going to fall asleep on his feet. "And finally, we're going to have you enrolled into the Academy this year."

Both the younglings in the room reacted to this, his student's eyes flicking over to him in evident surprise. It also brought out a small frown in the girl, but he was glad she was becoming a little more expressive. He wasn't a medic but even he knew it wasn't good to keep emotions and thoughts bottled inside.

"What will the village know?" the girl asked quietly. Jiraiya didn't expect that and mentally floundered for a moment.

"They will be told that you are the only jinchuriki." his student replied truthfully.

Jiraiya was surprised at the honesty in that statement. That gave the little one some leverage.

"If there aren't any more questions, we're off." he said, reaching out a large hand to shake the tiny Uchiha's one gently. "Lovely to meet you."

"Could I talk to Minato?" came the quiet voice just as he reached the door. Jiraiya turned to see his student looking rather pained before giving him a stern look. From what he had inferred, they needed to talk this out. This situation was a lot more complicated than he had originally thought.

"Of course. Don't take too long." he said finally before closing the hospital door behind him. And since privacy meant nothing to a ninja, he leant on the opposite wall with a sigh, simultaneously summoning chakra to his ears to hear better.

"Fugaku told you didn't he? That I... know stuff now."

Silence.

"I-I'm _really_ sorry."

Sorry? Well that's not what he had expected. What could the four-year-old have done?

"I know I-I have no chance of being forgiven, and I know it won't ever be enough and I won't e-ever forgive myself but I just want you to know that I really r-really am sorry."

Jiraiya frowned at the long pause that followed, before there was an almost inaudible sigh.

There was the rustling of bed sheets and a creak - Minato had presumably lifted up the child onto his lap to sit on the bed himself. This theory was further cemented at the sound of tears dropping into fabric.

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have... done so much."

The toad sage tensed at the hurt in Minato's voice - this kid had gotten soft and his guard was strangely down. Maybe he was just that tired.

"I-I don't know. I just know stuff now and I don't know if it's true or not but now after _that_ I don't know what I'm going to do! All this knowledge is there but I don't know who to trust now that you hate me and -"

"I don't…hate you."

There was a pause.

"How?" came the quiet response. "I killed your _wife."_

Jiraiya's blood ran cold. That was some accusation to make about yourself for a four year old.

"My wife who loved you and trusted you no matter how much evidence there was against you. I'm sure you're hurting, Ama. There's no need to worry about me hating you on top of that, alright? We can…work things out. We both know..." a deep sigh. "We both know that Kushina would want us to."

Then the true sobs started. Jiraiya stopped enhancing his hearing and frowned deeply before walking slowly away.

* * *

Amaterasu relished the burst of flavour from the watermelon she was being fed, chewing contentedly as she heard Shisui babble on about his training. It seemed he was working on his speed, and he kept going on about how offended he had been when someone told him that relying on an D-rank technique so often was stupid. But apparently it was okay because her brother had smashed him in the next spar.

 _Bleeding chakra, feeling the burn of overused chakra pathways as she jumped as far as she could, as fast as she could just to reach Fugaku. Panic and pain her only companions._

"The Shunshin..." she murmured quietly, not missing how her brother perked up so _happily_ at her voice. "How does it work again?"

"It's usually spreading out the chakra around as much of the body as you can so that you move with really enhanced speed for a short time, but I find it's better to just focus it on certain muscle groups since it works just as well but with less chakra."

She hummed.

"I worried you, didn't I?" she asked softly. She felt her brother stiffen before relaxing into a grin.

"Nah. I knew you'd be alright." _Liar._ He caught her deadpan gaze before saying, "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"You were on a mission outside of the village, you couldn't have known." she said matter-of-factly.

He didn't say anything to that.

"Shisui. You're my brother, not a god. You can't blame yourself for every little thing that happens to me."

" _Little?"_

The pure venom in that statement caught her off guard and she was even more surprised to see that he had snapped the chopsticks in his grip.

"Hey now..." she started uncertainly, _feeling_ how his chakra rolled agitatedly in his coils. She was pretty attuned to his signature and from this distance she couldn't miss the signs.

"You can't say that. Don't you ever say that." he uttered with barely controlled anger, and if Ama hadn't been as mature as she was, then she would probably have been offended. But she understood.

"Okay." she agreed. "Not little. Really big. I mean, the fox was pretty huge, right?"

Shisui paled but kept his cool.

"Yeah. And, you know. Fugaku-sama. That's not little either."

Oh yes. Another thing she had completely fucked up. The list was going to be pretty long, wasn't it? Her wry thoughts were interrupted by a strange pain in her chest. She hadn't realised how attached she had gotten to the cold clan head, who was now dead because of her. Perhaps Zetsu was involved. Probably, if Fugaku had decided to share his research and call out Obito's identity.

Two children had lost a father because of her.

There was a sombre silence, and the panic loomed threateningly within her once more.

She smothered it down.

"Ah. Did you know I'm enrolled into the Academy this year?" she asked.

"Yeah, I had to sign the papers." her brother said through a mouthful of fruit. "Kakashi-senpai thought it was to keep you out of trouble and keep you occupied. Itachi's joining this year too, so at least you won't be alone."

"Was it fun?" she queried curiously. Shisui grimaced.

"I didn't spend much time there, but it was pretty boring because you're with the civilian students too. They have to go over _everything._ "

Ama huffed.

"Oh, and you have to travel further than I did, so you have to wake up earlier." he added cheekily. "The compound was smashed so we're moving."

The smile on Ama's face froze.

"Where?" she asked tentatively.

"Not sure yet, but there were rumours that we'll be moving somewhere closed off with large training grounds. Sounds perfect, don't you think?"

Perfectly shit, yes. Amaterasu was feeling the beginnings of the stabs of pain in her temple.

Life was slowly, but definitely, moving on.

* * *

"Right, so we've put the girl in the Academy to keep her out of trouble and give her things to focus on other than that trauma, we've found Naruto some milk, we've gone over both their seals and stabilised them, and now all we have to do is figure out if we like this new Uchiha clan head."

Minato rubbed his eyes blearily and tried to stifle a yawn.

"Oh. And you need to tell me how the _hell_ that girl got so involved that night. That takes priority because I've made scenario after scenario in my head and _none of them make a lick of sense._ "

Minato didn't need to open his eyes to know that his sensei was leaning over the table, eyes glaring frostily as he tried, and failed, to deal with not figuring something out. He turned his chair around instead and watched as the first rays of sunshine began to peep over the horizon. The Hokage then reached into his drawer and activated a silencing seal, waiting a few moments before continuing.

"Fugaku Uchiha talked to me in a strange genjutsu." he started slowly. "I say strange because, even though I remember talking with him for at least half an hour, only a moment passed in real life."

"This was during your fight with the masked man." his sensei intervened, eyebrow arched. Minato nodded.

"He told me that roughly a week ago Amaterasu told him that she thought someone with a Sharingan was going to attack the village, taking advantage of Kushina's childbirth to extract the Kyūbi. She originally confronted him because she had suspicions that it was going to be an Uchiha from the village."

The white-haired man in front of him scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"And Fugaku believed her because...?"

"She affirmed information about himself that he had never told anyone."

A lecherous grin plastered itself over his sensei's face before Minato stared seriously at him.

"She knew that Fugaku Uchiha had a Sharingan capable of manipulating the Kyūbi."

The grin was wiped off Jiraiya's face.

"When did this 'knowledge' begin? And did you say she confronted her own clan leader, accusing him of treason?"

At Minato's nod, the Sage huffed amusedly. "Kid's got spunk." he admitted gruffly.

"Knowledge started after she activated her Sharingan, apparently. But what confuses me is that she never came to Kushina or I about this, even though she knew that something bad was going to happen."

Minato couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice, not in front of his teacher.

"Minato."

"I know I shouldn't feel so angry but I am. If she had just _told_ me - maybe she didn't trust me enough? She's a good kid, sensei. She's just been forced to grow up quickly. It's just..."

There was a pause.

"I know." his sensei nodded. And that was it. That was all the consoling they were going to do, because they were shinobi.

"And you sealed _it_ in her because..."

" _It_ almost ripped her in half. _It_ was going to be the only thing that would heal her." A pause. "Kushina told me to."

His sensei nodded in understanding.

Suddenly they felt a chakra flare and both simultaneously turned to the door where there was a single knock before a familiar little girl tumbled inside. She performed a perfectly executed Shunshin, repositioning herself behind the Hokage's desk just in time for the Chūnin on duty to come thundering in after her.

"Hokage-sama, we are so sorry but there seems to be a girl -"

"Haven't seen one I'm afraid!" Jiraiya cut in swiftly, before giving them a dangerous smile. "Didn't you feel the silencing seal?"

They disappeared immediately after closing the door in a hurry. The white-haired Sage chuckled.

The heavily panting girl collapsed on top of the Hokage's impeccably clean desk.

"Sorry, I just... haven't been training... really unfit." she wheezed.

"What did we say about chakra usage?" Minato sighed, receiving a shameless smile in return.

"It works fine!" she chirped. "I'm actually here on some important business."

Jiraiya was definitely amused. "Go on." he ushered, sitting himself down. It was time something fun happened.

"You can't move the Uchiha compound there."

Both sensei and student blinked.

She calmed her breathing, intelligent dark eyes surveying them and reading the atmosphere carefully.

"Fugaku told you." she said, nodding to the blond. "And you most probably told him." She nodded towards the oldest man in the room.

"Told me what?" Jiraiya asked testily.

"That I know things now." she watched as he opened his mouth to question her further but she interrupted him. "Don't act clueless. I already know that you know."

Um. How.

She rolled her eyes.

"Your face. You looked at Minato when I said that I know things so it obviously means you've talked about me knowing _things_ , as opposed to just knowing things like everyone else. You guys were probably just talking about it, judging from the silencing seal. Speaking of which, how long do we have left?"

Jiraiya tried very hard to keep an emotionless face, suddenly feeling rather wary.

"Around five minutes?" Minato didn't look surprised at her deductions. So this was normal then. What a strange child. Damn Uchiha and their prodigious spawns.

"Okay. I need to tell you." she began. "I knew things about this attack. I know it's going to be painful for us to talk about it for a good while from now, but I want to start by saying that I'm sorry that my mistake had such a cost. I panicked, and it had bad consequences."

"Learning from this, I want to confide in you with what I know. Don't ask me how it works, because I haven't figured it out yet. Just to get you to trust me, I'm going to try something and you can tell me if it's true or not."

She focused her gaze on the white-haired Sage and paused, before the black shifted into a red with three spinning tomoe.

The fully matured Sharingan was out of place on such a young face, but now Jiraiya knew. She was sincere about her apologies and the pain she had suffered was displayed in front of him with the three tomoe in a sea of crimson. He was starting to feel bad for the child - it seemed she really had been forced to grow up quickly.

"You agree that I've never seen you in my life." she started, and Jiraiya nodded. "You said your name was Jiraiya, and I know you're Minato's genin sensei."

The man's face fell. "Is that the kind of knowledge you get?" he asked, slightly disappointed.

"No." came the deadpan reply. "I heard Minato call you sensei earlier, and the genin bit was a probability-based guess."

Minato 'coughed'.

"You have a summoning contract with the toads, your sensei was Hiruzen Sarutobi, and your team ended up as a complete disaster. I won't go into the details...for your sake."

He knew that that information wasn't by any means classified, since he introduced himself as the Toad Sage. A couple reasonable assumptions and she could make people believe what she wanted them to. Nonetheless, the smirk faded and he felt strangely vulnerable, particularly at the end of her statement. How much did she know?

Ama turned her Sharingan-clad gaze onto the Hokage.

"You were a childhood genius who regularly uses two jutsu of your own. Hiraishin, which is based on Tobirama Senju's own technique, and Rasengan, which is your original technique based on the _Bijuudama (Tailed Beast Bomb)_. You have been trying to add your wind-nature to it for a while with no success."

"Are you being selective in what you're telling us?"

She frowned, deactivating her Kekkei Genkai.

"Not intentionally. It kind of feels like _remembering_ pieces of information, so certain things come and go. They're completely random. I mean, I don't get it at all from some people while from others I get a lot."

"You said something about not moving the Uchiha." Minato mentioned.

"Oh. That's has nothing to do with foreknowledge. I don't want to move and I thought it was quite rude of you to suggest it."

Minato heard Jiraiya choking on his own spit at her bluntness but he ignored it.

"The Uchiha helped by sending _every_ Uchiha jōnin on the front lines defending against the Kyūbi, while the others, including genin, helped escorting civilians out of danger. You even sealed the Kyūbi into one of us - I know it was to save my life - but it's still a burden. People are looking at me weird." her glare dampened at this point. "We're not asking for anything for this service, no rewards or mentions, because this is _our_ village and it's our duty. But we, I mean _I,_ am not going to stand by while you discriminate against us for some strange suspicion an old man with bad fashion sense has."

Was this child talking about...

"How do you know that Danzō -"

"So it _was_ him." she mused aloud, before smiling innocently at the white-haired shinobi. Jiraiya was starting to find this kid quite annoying.

"Ama-chan, I'll keep what you said in mind but I think it's bath time now." Minato told her quietly, and she groaned.

"Only if you promise to take a nap with me after." she challenged, and they stared at each other for a while before Minato gave in.

"Alright."

The girl grinned widely before waving and trotting out of the office.

Jiraiya watched her go before turning to meet his student's gaze with an appalled expression.

"Sensei, it seems the real Amaterasu Uchiha is back." Minato said, dare he say it, _fondly._ His blue eyes shimmered with a new brightness that had been empty before. "That's the child Kushina loved."

As glad as he was that Minato was feeling better, he was still uneasy with the child. She was not normal, and it worried him. Anyway...

"Minato _darling_ , I think it's time for your nap."

* * *

 **Yo y'all we're BACK! AND WE'VE REACHED 500 FOLLOWERS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!**

 **WELL BELIEVE IT! ALSO SIMONE AND I HAVE SO MUCH PLANNED LIKE GUUYS IT'S GOING TO BE SO GREAT. Thanks to Simone as always you absolute bae.**

 **Just a few things about this chapter - Ama was given the Yang because having the Yin would cause some complications of unbalance between her already concentrated Yin chakra (from her old life). Also, for people who think that Ama recovered _way_ too quickly, I kinda agree but ****Ama's emotional state is very fragile at the moment I tried to show that her cheer in the last parts of the chapter mostly come from her compartmentalising/suppressing what happened in order to deal with it over time.**

 **I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS. So many things have happened, you know so much more now, and I NEED reactions! You guys are seriously the best. You're all so smart and your theories are usually so spot on I wonder if i'm being too predictable.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Till next time,**

 **Lei and Simone xx**


	11. Eleven

"Ow ow ow, nii-san OW!" came the loud complaints from a six year old Amaterasu Uchiha as her brother cleaned her cuts with an antiseptic wipe.

Two years had passed since the attack and Ama had experienced a very large growth spurt, resulting in her now being a grand total of 123 cm high. (She only knew this because they had measured her at her academy graduation for her records). She had managed to graduate last week (six months after Itachi had left), being pulled back because her taijutsu had been rather subpar when compared to the twelve year olds. (For Uchiha standards. She had been ranked third, and apparently that was _unacceptable_ ). She began training with weighted equipment shortly after that and her ranking shot up to first within two weeks. It made more of a difference than she thought it would, so apparently the problem wasn't with her technique like she thought but merely a question of physical prowess.

"Stop being such a wimp." her brother muttered moodily, swiping at her bruised body with more vigour and then wrapping the bandages around. They had just finished target training, except it was target practice for her...and for him. Basically her objective was to hit all the targets without being hit by Shisui's weapons, which was difficult when your brother had a 100% accuracy rate and vision that put hawks to shame.

Shisui had stuck by her like glue after the attack. Whenever he needed to train, he brought her with him, and she even accompanied him on simple missions around the village. For missions out of the village he usually made sure she stuck by Itachi, and if Itachi was also unavailable she'd be babysitting Naruto, most of the time while looking after Sasuke.

Mikoto was also another person that changed after the attack, proving herself as a very strong woman. She came out of retirement and, with a little training to get back into shape, was reinstated as an active jōnin with her own genin team, while also caring for little Sasuke. (Shisui, Itachi and Ama frequently pitched in for babysitting jobs). Mikoto was usually seen on the training fields, barking at her poor little genin whist feeding her baby with a bottle.

Ama's relationship with Minato was still patchy. She knew he couldn't look at her without thinking of his wife but he was very good at hiding it - Ama knew because she was doing the same thing. However, she took pride in the fact that going over her neonatal training was very beneficial to the newborn Naruto, because Minato was quite simply clueless. When she had first visited his home, Naruto was drinking _cow milk_ while crying with his nappy unchanged and put on wrong, and he was just sprawled out on the floor. What if he had moved wrongly and hurt his neck?! The sheer amount of possible dangers was endless and Ama took it upon herself to right it all.

She gathered all the books on neonatal care that she could find in both civilian and shinobi sections on the library, and asked Mikoto frequently about the subject so that no one could question her knowledge on the topic. She also began to pick up her medical knowledge and made detailed notes in English of what she remembered from her training, because she was starting to forget little things... and that scared her. She did want to go into medical training in this world, but she didn't want to specialise in that field. To be fair, with her chakra reserves, she could probably be a combat medic without many problems.

She had written into at least twenty scrolls before she was done, and following on from that she added to her notes on whatever knowledge she managed to conjure from the series. She made notes on every character she remembered, what had happened and specifically tried to focus on their history.

Babysitting, training, going to the Academy, making notes and keeping up her usual studying had kept her very busy, but it also meant less nightmares the more tired she was. She just knew that the moment she didn't have a task at hand, thoughts would creep into her mind and she'd be forced to think about things she couldn't deal with.

Thoughts she _really_ couldn't deal with. She had a severe breakdown once and had to be given sedatives at the hospital. They recommended taking something that would have been called antidepressants in her old world but she had refused. There was a reason those things are not given to children, as she knew the effects they had on a growing body and mind. To be completely honest, she found it appalling that the medic on rotation even suggested it. Clearly the quality took a steep drop after Dan Katō died and Tsunade left the village.

"There, all done." her brother sighed before packing up the first aid equipment and starting to pick up all the scattered weapons.

The twelve year old boy had also grown and was becoming very strong. There had been talk within the clan about how he would be up for promotion to jōnin soon, and even some saying that Ama was the one holding him back. Amaterasu couldn't believe how much of a genius her brother had really been, because he had only been glanced over in the series. Shisui was a very committed learner and very competitive with himself. He wouldn't sleep until he got a technique down and he would be practicing until he had it _perfect_ , not settling for anything less. His seemed to be good at everything, although his speed and agility were enhanced by his love for the Shunshin no jutsu and so were his strong suit.

Ama had seen it in action once, and despite being based on the simple concept of illusionary clones and the shunshin, when used in conjunction with the hypnotic phase of the sharingan, Ama could only imagine how his opponent would feel.

Amaterasu could see how she _was_ holding her brother back from his full potential. She knew he was refusing long-term missions that he was capable of carrying out, and ones that could have helped his career skyrocket because of her. He had this vision that every time he left, he would come back to her in the hospital. She didn't know what to do about that. She did want her brother to fulfil his potential, but at the same time she knew it would mean she wouldn't be able to see him for months at a time. She needed him to ground her.

"What now?" she asked as she helped clear up the field. Minato had decided to listen to her in the end, and made it a village effort to help rebuild the Uchiha clan for good show. They were given more land to be used as training fields, and the new Uchiha head was now in charge of recruiting people outside the Uchiha clan for the Konoha Military Police Force, which was now given more funding and responsibility in keeping the internal conditions of the village safe.

"I have a meeting with Yashiro- taichō." her brother sighed, and Ama grinned. Yashiro was the new clan head and he was trying _very_ hard to recruit Shisui for the Konoha Police. Her nii-san didn't like the idea. He enjoyed missions outside the village and preferred to keep protecting the village from the outside, as he had grown up in that mindset from the war.

"Itachi should be free now so I'll find him and take Sasuke and Naruto out to play at the orphanage I think. I need to talk to Arata anyway." she told him as she sealed away the last of the weapons with the _Fūnyū no Jutsu (Enclosing Technique)_. This is the same technique Tenten would use so heavily in the future, and surprisingly it wasn't taught in the academy as she first assumed. She only knew of it because she asked Shisui where she could find storage scrolls, only to learn that those would be useless if she didn't know the jutsu to seal and release object's within them.

Apparently a simple burst of chakra on the paper didn't cut it, which made a tremendous amount of sense in hindsight. It wouldn't do for your scrolls to open by themselves because some chakra touched them, ejecting your equipment while still inside your pockets. Tenten would have gotten skewered by the literal armoury she carried around. It was more like sliding the objects in with a coat of chakra into another dimension, and relatively simple to get the hang of after a bit of practice.

She had been very surprised to see Arata from the orphanage in her Academy class. He was looking healthier and happy, and seemed much more confident than before. He had been working hard and should be graduating in about two years time if he kept at it with the studying. It turned out that the reason why the children were kept in the Academy for so long was because of the amount of knowledge that they required. They needed to know the village history, international relations, the mechanics of weapon trajectories, geography of this world, chakra, coding and a few jutsu, which were actually many more than the famous academy three... the list was never ending because, as Konoha wasn't currently embroiled in an international war, there was no urgent need for more shinobi in the field so the instructors took their time to cram as much knowledge as possible in their students.

Itachi had obviously been able to pick it up very fast, due to his father teaching him since he was very little and his natural genius, which seemed to come retaining great amounts of information and concentrating for long periods of time. Basically what Ama could do, minus the twenty eight years of life it had taken her before.

Even though the graduation exam didn't really _test_ this knowledge, as you could technically still become a ninja without knowing all the stuff they taught you (*cough*Naruto*cough*), it was still useful for the bright ones to pick it up early instead of having their jōnin-sensei fill in the holes in their knowledge during missions, which could get dangerous.

Naturally, as Ama sucked in all the information they offered her within a month, they focused on her 'weakness' (i.e. the only thing she wasn't completely acing) - her taijutsu - to keep her there for longer.

She didn't mind it. She most definitely could have graduated after six months if she really wanted to, but she didn't. She liked being back at school again, it was the dash of normality she needed after the trauma. She returned to being the 'smart' one in class, and it was pretty much the first time after she had been reborn that she actually had a chance to feel like a child again. She play fighted with her peers, made petty jokes and pretty much had the most fun she had in her lifetime in the Naruto-verse.

It had made her feel normal.

Ama said bye to her brother and leapt off towards the Uchiha compound. Waving and smiling at the clansmen that she recognised, and completely ignoring the few cowered in her presence, she made it to Itachi's new house which was located a bit off from the centre. Yes, apparently some people really _were_ scared of her. Minato had released the information that she was the jinchuriki of the Kyūbi, and naturally people had their opinions. There had been talk about how the Uchiha had been given too much power, and she knew that Shisui was unhappy whenever he walked around the compound with her - she presumed they had been put under tight surveillance. The faint flickers of _something_ always lingered at the back of her mind but she knew it was to be expected. Partly for her own safety, partly for the safety of others – what she didn't know was whether they were under Minato or Danzō's control. Probably both.

As for her... situation, she suspected the seal was supposed to loosen over time just like in canon because, try as she might, she couldn't reach Kurama across the mindscape just yet. She didn't particularly want to ask Minato or Jiraiya to weaken it for her, as they'd be far too suspicious that she was under the Uchiha's control. Jiraiya had disappeared again anyways. He sometimes liked to scare her by appearing in front of her whenever she was alone - maybe to gauge the strength of the seal, her progress... or just because it gave him the kicks. Who knew what that crazy man was thinking.

Itachi hadn't dealt with his father's death as well as she had hoped. Despite not receiving much attention from him as he had been busy all the time, he had strived for his affection and approval, and had held a lot of respect for him. Being the reserved child he was, he stood strong when his mother was hurting, but there had been times where he had broken down in front of Ama.

She managed to coax it out of him using her therapeutic training because she _knew_ that keeping emotions blocked inside was not a good thing, especially for the negative effects it could have on an Uchiha. She did not want a revenge obsessed Itachi - Sasuke had been horrific enough - and even just _imagining_ Itachi with that mindset... she shuddered at the mere thought. Shisui and Amaterasu had become Itachi's emotional pillars, and Itachi shifted his respect from his deceased father completely towards her brother. She wasn't really sure how he viewed her.

Maybe a friend? Probably more like an annoying, less cute, older version of Sasuke. Whatever.

"Ohayo Mikoto-san! May I kidnap your sons, please?" she trilled as she stepped into the house. Mikoto looked up with tired eyes from her spot at the sink and Ama's gaze softened. She quickly placed her hands into a familiar sign and with a puff half her chakra was gone and in its place were four replicas of herself. She willed one to go and do the dishes, two to start cleaning the house and the final one to usher Mikoto to her bed. The kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique) was useful, and she was very glad that she had pleaded Minato to teach it to her and officially allow her to use it so no one reported her for doing it. However, she knew that she wasn't going favour using it in combat. The sudden chakra drain was disorientating, and she found herself holding newfound respect for future Naruto and his competence with this technique. How he managed to learn it as quickly as he did was anybody's guess.

Amaterasu had put special focus throughout the last two years on chakra control for two simple reasons: she knew she was going to specialise in ninjutsu, and she wanted to make the best use of her large chakra reserves, and because her control as a jinchuriki would get progressively worse unless she nipped the problem in the bud. The only way to fix that was to practise with the countless exercises Minato, Mikoto, Shisui and even from some iryō-nin in the hospital gave her. Of course, it would also help if she decided to pick up some iryō-ninjutsu anytime in the future.

"Ama-chan really, this is quite unnecessary. I can -" Mikoto began, before being interrupted.

"So I'll just be taking Itachi, Sasuke and probably Naruto to the orphanage to play, okay? Have a nap, and they'll - I'll? - deal with the housework." Ama told her as she walked up the stairs, jerking her head towards her clones.

"Brush your hair before you leave!" came the resigned shout and Ama groaned. Her hair had gotten long, almost down to mid-back, and it was a right pain. It wasn't pin straight like Mikoto's, but fell in waves like a longer version of Shisui's, but the ex-Uchiha matriarch insisted that she brushed it at least twice a day due to its thickness.

"I can tell you're not using the conditioner I gave you!" another nag reached her and she rolled her eyes just as she caught sight of Itachi playing with Sasuke on a futon. Yes, because that conditioner was 'grass-scented' and smelled artificially disgusting. Ama made a mental note to buy some _nicely_ scented products - she was strangely quite sensitive with certain smells nowadays.

"Right! Let's go." she chirped, and Itachi gave her a deadpan look. She scowled at him, stomped over to the chest of drawers and furiously brushed her hair, making it look even more frizzy than normal due to her hectic combing. She quickly tied it up and scooped the toddler into her arms.

"Hello Sasu-chan!" she grinned as she made her way back down the stairs, completely anticipating the hand he swiped at her face and dodging smoothly. She counted to three in her head before he started wailing for his brother and naturally the elder son gently took him from her arms. They waved to Mikoto, who was looking fondly at the three of them, and Ama nodded to her clones.

To make best use of them, Ama usually made them do some chakra control training after they completed their given tasks before they dispelled.

"I take it training went well?"

Ama hummed as they started walking towards the Academy building, which also housed the Hokage's office, the Mission Assignment Desk (Ninmu Uketsuke) and the Jōnin Standby Station (Jōnin Taikijō) in the building next to it.

"Yeah, it was okay. I got scraped a few times but I think Shisui-nii is being a bit off nowadays."

There was a pause and she glanced at Itachi's blank face.

"I know you know so you'd better spill it." she said threateningly, even though she knew she was anything _but_ threatening to the older Uchiha. His gaze slid over to her amusedly, as if silently reminding her of this fact before giving her a sharp nod.

"I have noticed too." he said slowly. "I suspect it has something to do with Yashiro-sama, or the ANBU (Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai, Special Assassination and Tactical Squad)."

Ama made a sound of annoyance as she ran her hands through her long ponytail, frowning in thought.

"Shisui's pretty soft hearted, but taking care of internal conditions within the village will be pretty boring for him, not to mention a waste of his talents." she thought aloud. She heard Sasuke shout in glee at the sight of the market in the distance and shared a knowing glance with Itachi before they leapt onto the rooftops.

Sasuke and markets did not mix well. He didn't seem to understand the concept of money just yet and thought that whatever was on display was all for him. Particularly the tomatoes. Weird child.

"He likes missions out of the village and he believes in protecting it from the shadows... but I don't think the ANBU's type of work is right for him." Itachi agreed as they landed on the other side. Ama was glad he was being honest in front of her, instead of hiding what he wanted to say and saying what he thought was expected of him.

She gasped in realisation.

"We should be assigned as his genin team as soon as he gets promoted to jōnin!" she exclaimed. "How fun would that be? He wouldn't have to worry about us and we wouldn't have to worry about him because we'd all be together!"

Itachi looked at her with a slightly exasperated expression.

"I already have a genin team and you will be assigned to one shortly. Shisui wouldn't be given a genin team as soon as he was promoted anyway." he pointed out blandly, making her glower at him.

"You have to admit, it _would_ be fun though." she huffed, turning her head to look around.

Itachi grudgingly grunted in agreement and her face smoothed out into a bright smile once more.

Ama jumped as she suddenly remembered herself doing the dishes, cleaning the house, making sure Mikoto was in bed and doing chakra exer - oh, her kage bunshin (Shadow Clone) had dispelled. She blinked to see two pairs of dark eyes staring at her, one curious and the other slightly concerned. She waved them off.

"The Shadow Clones just dispelled." she mumbled. She still hadn't gotten used to that feeling. It was really disorientating because one second you were 'you' and then you suddenly had new memories of multiple 'yous', all doing stuff at the same time. Yeah, it was confusing.

"Mikoto's finally in bed, and one of my clones is still there to keep an eye on her." Ama said just as they reached the Academy's building. Itachi nodded.

"You go get Naru-chan, I have to talk to Minato."

With that, she ran up and waited just enough for the receptionist to catch sight of her before disappearing with a well placed shunshin. She got why Shisui liked this technique. It wasn't really like teleportation, but you were able to just kinda whiz by and it was fun.

"Hokage-sama! The girl -" said receptionist shrieked, slamming open the door to Minato's office to find that he was in a mission debrief with a chūnin team... who were all staring in various degrees of surprise at her intrusion. She paused, scanning the room for the little brat only to find nothing before straightening, smoothing out her hair and clothes and bowing lowly. She left with a muttered apology.

Amaterasu sniggered from the wall she was leaning against, dispelling the Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique) she had used to camouflage herself against the light brown walls. Minato massaged his temples, and the chūnin looked mildly offended at their time with the Hokage being interrupted by a child. She sensed the atmosphere and the stillness of Minato's chakra though, so she knew that he was truthfully quite bored and that they weren't talking about anything too important.

"Sorry everyone. Couldn't resist." she grinned before reaching into the drawers of Minato's desk and sizzling a silencing seal out of courtesy before hopping out of the window to join the ANBU she knew to be stationed on the roof. If it was Kakashi he would have shown himself at this point but it wasn't so she seemed alone. She had crawled up there using the building like Spiderman, focusing her chakra so that it coated her hands and the tips of her feet.

Her chakra control was pretty damn good if she said so herself, especially considering that jinchūriki had notoriously bad chakra control (or was it just Naruto?). She was getting better and better because of the timetable she had set on how many exercises to do every day, upping them every time her brother advised her to. She was getting a good feel for what chakra was and how it worked, and the number of jutsu she knew was steadily growing.

Her genjutsu on the other hand... wasn't so great. It was fine for simple things, like what she did earlier in Minato's office, but as soon as she tried to cast anything more complex it just didn't work.

Her mind was just too easily distracted. When it came to genjutsu, you were supposed to focus your mind on the desired result and pour out your chakra into the target's chakra system, but she just couldn't do it. Her ideas were limited and too inconsistent, so without the aid of the Sharingan she it took _way_ too long. The red eyes helped her to focus her mind but and even then the cast genjutsu was weak. She just wasn't good at it. Shisui could cast genjutsu with a simple thought when the Kekkei Genkai was activated.

"It's weird." her brother had said confusedly. "Your chakra control is more than good enough for a simple genjutsu. I don't know why you're finding this so hard."

As much as Ama wanted to be good at everything, she already decided that she would make ninjutsu her speciality and focus all her competitiveness on that instead. Her accuracy with thrown weapons was steadily improving too.

She realised that even though she could _see_ where she had to hit for a certain effect, if her throw wasn't precise enough and she missed then it was useless. Itachi was every bit as good as the series had shown him to be - he never missed. His tricks with changing the direction of his weapons were very smart and something he had come up with himself, but with a Kekkei Genkai like the sharingan anyone could do it, as long as they had the precision for it, as Shisui had so smugly demonstrated - flawlessly on the first try.

The previous clan heir was definitely an all around genius - his taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu were all balanced and of very high quality, and his tactical thinking was also really impressive. Difficult competitors indeed. However his chakra reserves were nothing special, so she had that going for her at least.

Ama knew that she couldn't be obsessed with trying to be better than either Itachi or Shisui, but she did want to best them in at least one aspect, and be able to fight _with_ them on an equal level. If anything, she just didn't want to be a hindrance. She knew she was missing years of experience but she wanted to think that her adult mind could be of help in some way.

The little Uchiha was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the arm reaching for her from the corner of her eye, scooping her off her perch on the roof. She didn't react because she knew it was Minato, but she did have a fleeting moment of panic, remembering that feeling of _fear_ when being attacked by those ROOT operatives _._

She smothered it down in one breath.

"- can't just barge in like that."

"Sorry." she said shortly. There was a sigh.

"What were you thinking so hard about? You and I both know nothing good comes out of your thoughts." he said lightly, and despite her having gotten quite big, he hoisted her up into his arms, leaning her against his hip naturally. She glared good-naturedly at him.

"I can't do genjutsu." she mumbled dejectedly, and he chuckled.

"Most children your age are still at the academy." he reminded her gently with a knowing look. She puffed out air in her cheeks in frustration.

"Kashi-nii was chūnin by the time he was my age."

Minato decided not to react to this statement. He knew that she was well aware she was being petty, and that she had just worked herself up into a bad mood.

"Minato, do you think I'm holding my nii-san back?" she asked quietly. She felt his surprise before he hummed in contemplation.

"How about you tell me what you think." he suggested, knowing that she just wanted to sort out her thoughts.

"I am." she started. "But I don't want him to go into ANBU, or I'll never see him. He's too soft-hearted for something like ANBU anyways, so he'd be totally miserable."

 _Like Itachi had been_.

Minato was silent.

"It's not even wartime anyway. There's no need for him to fly up the ranks. He might as well..." she paused, biting her lip.

"Wait for you to catch up?" the Hokage was faintly amused at her predictability. Ama wasn't sure whether to be happy or scared that he knew her this well.

"Look over the village, Ama." he said softly, and Amaterasu looked. It was around midday now, with the sun bright in the sky as always, and the village was bustling with activity. Ninja were flickering across the rooftops while the villagers bumbled around on street level, pushing wagons and just full of _life._

"Tell me about it."

"Its government is made up of one righteous person, who is devoted to protecting its people, and three others that have the same goal but more used to wartime methods. This government can be corrupt, full of backstabbing and one that is sometimes unaware of the weight of their decisions. And, of course, a government that will never admit to their mistakes." she said, ignoring how frosty the atmosphere was getting - presumably from some butthurt ANBU.

"The village is nothing but fragile when caught up between outside threats and internal ones - who can it really rely on? The shinobi that are supposed to be protecting them follow orders from the government, trusting that they will give the right choice for the overall good of the village. That's how you can justify doing what shinobi do - they kill, they hurt…it's easy to dismiss it if you think that you're doing it for a moral reason. The three man team system has many flaws as well... It teaches teamwork and devotion to the village, and to trust in the higher ups. It doesn't teach how to think for yourself or question things. You're told something and are expected to follow."

Ama paused contemplatively, and Minato used it to ask, "Why are you a shinobi then?"

"I don't think I'm going to be a very good one. A shinobi is supposed to do things for the village by trusting their superiors and following orders. I'm not going to be some mindless tool - if I take a mission I want to know its background: If I need to kill someone, is it really the best method? If I need to steal something, how many people is it going to affect? If I need to protect something, why?" she said honestly. "I like the village. It has a nice market, I love the people in it and it's my home. I also like what it stands for - the unity of clans as an act of the beginning of the fight to end all fighting in this world. I don't believe that's _completely_ possible, but there are definitely people in this world that exploit their power, and I want to protect innocent people from them."

She paused.

"I want to protect people by being the person that they don't need to be. The person that kills, the person that sacrifices, the person that hurts... they don't have to go through all that just to feel safe. The shinobi is someone that sacrifices all so that innocent people can live safely, and I think that's really noble - that's who I want to be."

There was a silence after she trailed off, and a moment where she was certain that she had said too much. She had just said she didn't trust the judgement of her Hokage, and she wanted to make decisions for herself instead, as if she was superior... and she told him that directly to his face. She also said she wanted to protect _people_ , and not the village specifically. Her worries were cut short by a ruffling of her hair.

"And are you confident that you can be that person?" came the quiet inquire.

"No."

She felt the confusion and shock radiating from Minato at the firmness of her statement.

"But I'm going to try like hell until I am."

There was another silence but this one was lighter, and Minato's blue eyes shone in a way that Ama couldn't really interpret.

"You think too much." came the chuckled reprimand. "I think that got very deep too quickly. Isn't it too early for this?"

He let her down and they made their way to Naruto's little makeshift nursery for the times when Minato was in the office.

"Your brother will be promoted soon on my end, but not where you're thinking. His talents are wasted in teaching, but he is very competent as a squad leader. He will be very busy though, so I suggest your friend gets some new teachers on the Uchiha side of things." came the low mutter as they walked. Minato then grinned. "I handpicked your sensei though! You should be excited... although you won't be in a genin team."

Ama blinked in surprise.

"Eh?! Why not?"

Minato's glanced down at her with a wink.

"You just proved to me that you'd benefit more from one-to-one training."

Amaterasu was stunned. 'Didn't want to hold you back.' was the underlying message. He understood that she was a natural born leader, and that she wouldn't be able to deal with blindly following orders. She would never have treated one of _her_ patients following someone else's judgment. She would have taken their history fresh every time, and made sure that their treatment was always a result of _her_ decision. Teamwork came as second nature to her, of course - one person could do very little in a healthcare setting - but doing something without knowing _why_ she was doing it was an absolute no.

This was why Minato decided he wanted to train her like this, so that others would look up to her as worthy of being listened to, and trustworthy enough to follow... because he trusted her mindset. She now just needed experience in battle and the shinobi arts.

It was the best opportunity she could ever have asked for.

She _beamed_ at him, but received a sad smile in return.

"Don't ever forget what you said on the rooftop, alright Ama? You were born to be a shinobi." he whispered. "Kushina was always right. You're a special one."

Amaterasu stopped in her tracks, blood chilling at the sincerity of that statement and the honesty in his cerulean eyes.

Despite everything, Minato Namikaze was moving on from the past. He was forgiving her.

* * *

 **Bit of a filler chapter, sorry y'all if it wasn't very eventful. But read it carefully - there are many hints for the future! Ama's played this one right. She's displayed her maturity about everything, which leads to Minato trusting her more and more with her information - they could have easily had it sealed but they want to use it. With their talk on the rooftop, Ama's displayed her true nature - she wasn't afraid of speaking her thoughts about what was wrong and what was right about the anarchy in the village. And coincidentally, they matched with Minato's own feelings, which is why he understands and trusts her more. He's giving her an opportunity he wanted when he was her age as a genius - he wants to teach her how to make right judgements in a way that she won't end up regretting (like she did with Kushina). He also wants her to grow as skilful as she can without being caught up in the slow system.**

 **The thing with the formatting of the italicised and japanese/english techniques - it's just so people of all levels in the fandom can understand it and research it further if they wanted to. We think it's more useful for you guys, but do correct us if we're wrong!**

 **Aren't AmaTachi cute?**

 **Who do you think Ama's teacher's going to be?**

 **GUYS WE REACHED 150 REVIEWS OKAY? OKAY. OMGGGGGGGGG! I will reply to each and every one I promise baes - you're all amazing.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **Lei and Simone xx**

 **EDIT: 25/10/16**


	12. Twelve

"Sensei." Minato looked up from a trading contract he was flicking through to see his student standing in front of him, and the Hokage wasn't sure whether he was more proud or worried that he hadn't sensed the teenager at all. Was he getting rusty? The last Hatake was watching him warily with a single black eye, face set determinedly, and Minato knew immediately what the conversation was going to be about.

'How is it that whenever you're involved, everything gets so complicated?' he wondered, sighing exasperatedly as he berated a certain little girl in his head.

"Kakashi, it's quite unlike you to refuse to take no for an answer." he hummed lightly, gaze guarded. His student had asked several times over a period of two years to graduate Amaterasu early and let him take her on as an apprentice.

"I can't take no for an answer in this case sensei." Kakashi said solemnly. "For some reason she's being targeted - she's been hospitalised twice. On top of that she's a new jinchūriki. She needs to be trained - her potential is being wasted in the Academy and you know it."

Minato refrained from letting out a loud groan. Why did everyone think he had just _forgotten_ about the genius? He was giving her a chance to live for a while without having to focus on matters that she shouldn't have to deal with, as well as a chance to _be a child_ for the first time in her life.

"She's been in the Academy for a year and a half, Kakashi. It's not wartime so why the rush?" he sighed, leaning back against his chair and stretching his arms above his head. "Besides, it's not like she's bored. She's actually quite busy."

His student somehow managed to look even more unimpressed. "Because she's was looking after two newborns, one of them being your son." he deadpanned, quite coldly if Minato were to be honest. "She needs to _train,_ sensei. She needs to get stronger."

Minato was silent for a bit, staring at his student thoughtfully. Of course he had considered what to do with Amaterasu very carefully. Kakashi had no idea just how important that girl was. The Konoha Council had been hounding him about her as well.

He had simply been prolonging the harsh training programme that was inevitable in the girl's future, and once that started she wouldn't be able to stop. He just wanted to give her a short period of time where she could focus on something _other_ than shinobi works. Once she began her true career as a kunoichi she wouldn't ever be able to look back. She was going to get stronger whether she liked it or not and the more powerful she got the more skilled her opponents would be.

Kakashi was definitely a good choice for a sensei, or rather shishō in this case. He got along well with her and had a large amount of jutsu that he could easily pass onto the little girl with a mature Sharingan and insane chakra reserves. His basics were flawless, his mindset firm, his loyalty towards the village unquestionable and he had previous teaching experience during his time as an ANBU captain.

However, Kakashi was needed in the village and Amaterasu needed to get out.

Village relations with Kumogakure (Village Hidden by Clouds) were tottering on the edge of war at the moment. That village had been trying Konoha for a long while, dating back to the attempted kidnapping of his late wife, and Minato wasn't sure if he would let them get away with it anymore. There were regular skirmishes on the borders, attempts at infiltration of their posts, ambushes of their missions, and the most recent incident showed that Kumogakure was willing to keep pushing their luck until Minato finally snapped.

The Hokage couldn't forgive the attack on the daughter of the Hyūga clan head. He had been suspicious when Kumo sent out a shinobi to sign a peace treaty but couldn't refuse a legitimate peaceful offer without his village taking a blow to its reputation. It had resulted in said shinobi's death at the hand of Hiashi Hyūga as he was caught trying to steal the clan's heiress in order to get to the Byakugan. Minato was, quite frankly, absolutely livid as the other village had the audacity to demand the Hyūga leader's head in return.

Minato knew that if he refused, he would be initiating a war. They had played it well, and the Hokage's time had been spent arguing with Hiashi, Hizashi and the Konoha council on the best way to go about the situation. He refused Hizashi's plea to let him take his twin brother's place - Minato wouldn't forgive himself if that happened, it was much too unjust.

Minato wasn't going to back down from a war. It would be better to finish this in a strong blow and prevent unprompted attacks on his villagers who thought they were safe. It wasn't peacetime anymore for sure - he needed to step it up and make sure his shinobi knew to be careful.

His old teammate was not going to be wrongly sacrificed for a low blow like this.

"Amaterasu… can't stay in the village for much longer, Kakashi." he said slowly, gauging his student's reaction carefully. There was an initial widening of eyes, a slight crease of a frown as his thoughts whirled and after a total of five seconds understanding rippled across his body.

"So it's war." he breathed. "You need me here but Ama has to leave." Minato nodded once. Kakashi's intelligence never disappointed him.

"There's something else as well, isn't there? She's not _just_ a jinchuriki, because it would be safer to keep her here if that was the case." the ANBU captain theorised out loud. "There's something else and on top of that. You're...grooming her to be the next Hokage?" Kakashi managed to push out uncertainly, making Minato blink.

That was a very far-fetched theory - the girl was _six_ \- but Kakashi didn't know about Ama's special knowledge. If anyone found out about her ability she would be exploited and sought after like no other - even within the village. That's why he wanted her out, before she made too much of a name for herself, but assuming that he was already wanting her as his successor... had he really been that obvious?

"We can't control the future or how she will turn out... but the possibility was at the back of my mind, yes." he finally admitted. "And you know her. As soon as she knows her brother or maybe even you are going to be deployed she's going to stress herself out, force herself into training and that's just not healthy."

"The higher-ups will also want her to get to the front as fast as possible." Kakashi murmured knowingly. Minato suppressed a wince as an image of a blood splattered eight year old Shisui Uchiha resurfaced.

"There are a few others that are going to be pulled forward too. Itachi Uchiha is a prime example but I won't be able to prevent that at all, especially considering their clan." the blond rubbed his eyes tiredly, feeling the pressure start to constrict around him already. "I'm sure you understand that I'm asking you to bring it up with Shisui, and make sure Fugaku's son is ready for it."

It was the least he could do for the previous Uchiha clan leader for giving up his life for the village.

"I'm taking you out of ANBU for the moment and making you head a squad. Prepare yourself to be at the front at least once. There will be a meeting with all jōnin so don't worry about the details."

"Hai." his student affirmed quietly. They both knew what war would bring but Minato knew they were willing to go to all lengths for the safety of their village.

 _"A shinobi is someone that sacrifices all so that innocent people can live safely, and I think that's really noble - that's who I want to be."_

The corner of the Hokage's mouth tilted upwards as the little Uchiha's words resurfaced.

They were shinobi, after all.

* * *

Jiraiya watched as the new head of the Uchiha Clan sat down, with a clan adviser by his side. His name was Yashiro Uchiha and he had been Fugaku's second in command for a long time. The Toad Sage knew that he had been brought up to be skeptical of the village but there hadn't been obvious discontent at their decisions regarding the Uchiha Clan after the Kyūbi attack.

If things had gone Danzō's way, Jiraiya knew there definitely would have been.

"Yondaime-sama, Jiraiya-sama." he began warily. The Sage didn't blame him, it never was going to be a straightforward talk if the Hokage showed up personally to your front door for a meeting.

"The Uchiha compound is looking as lively as ever." Minato said lightly. "It is a pleasure to visit you. I trust everything is going well?" Yashiro seemed to relax slightly.

"Hai. We are very grateful for your help in rebuilding the clan compound despite its state after the attack." The beginning formalities were already making Jiraiya cringe. This was why he never delved into politics.

"We couldn't possibly have asked you to move. Your services to the village ranks and the running of the police are invaluable...and I couldn't help but feel as though we were under appreciating the Uchiha." his student continued with a warm smile. This boy had been born for this. "Considering our village's history, the Uchiha have been repressed to some extent, don't you agree?"

Even an amateur would recognise that as a good move. The clan head couldn't agree with him without confirming that there had been dissent against the way that the Uchiha had been treated, but he also couldn't disagree with the Hokage with a lie either. A very clever move - and the Uchiha head knew it. He tensed immediately, face set in a guarded gaze, while Minato himself simply looked like he was having a comfortable cup of tea at his own house. Jiraiya suppressed a chuckle. He was proud.

"I don't think there is such thing as a perfect relationship in this world, Hokage-sama." Yashiro said slowly. "All we can do is continue to keep up village-clan relations and continue to match our respectively changing needs."

i.e. Yes, there had been dissent but it's better now.

"I wholeheartedly agree, Uchiha-san. I will strive to keep up relations with the clan that took part in founding Konohagakure as we know it, but it will not work if we don't have a mutual agreement." the blond continued.

There was the trap. Sheesh, Jiraiya didn't realise that his little student was such a politician at all. Hiruzen-sensei had picked well.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. The Uchiha also want the best for this village, as we are a part of it. As long as we are treated as such, I don't foresee a problem." Yashiro said carefully.

"Well then, how about we go onto why we're actually here." Jiraiya interrupted with a stretch. Stupid clans with their perfect manners and perfect ramrod straight backs and perfect posture. He had quite enough of that. "Amaterasu Uchiha." The air immediately seemed to drop ten degrees at the name.

"What about her?" Yashiro inquired coldly.

"As we have previously discussed, I chose her to be the host of half the Kyūbi's chakra." Minato said rather hurriedly before Jiraiya could say any more.

"We are honoured for the display of trust you have in our clan." the new head intoned, wariness still evident in his features.

"She needs special attention as a jinchūriki, as I'm sure you understand." the Hokage continued smoothly.

"We are willing to give that attention." the Uchiha head responded immediately. Jiraiya scoffed.

"What are you planning on doing if there's a complication?"

The Uchiha's eyes flashed, and Jiraiya's own smile became challenging.

"I am sure we could deal with it just as effectively as whoever you have in mind."

The tension in the room was on the rise and Jiraiya's amusement peaked. He had told Minato before that the Uchiha were not going to let go of the girl so easily - especially now that they technically had half the Kyūbi under their control. They'd want to groom her as an Uchiha before a shinobi of Konoha just in case something happened.

"I'm not so sure." the Sage continued lightly with a slightly feral grin. Uchiha were always amusing to rile up...they were a proud bunch for sure. The sudden flare in Minato's chakra silenced whatever the Uchiha wanted to say next.

"It is the first time that an Uchiha has been made a jinchūriki and I feel it would be better if she was trained under someone with an expertise in sealing." Minato cut in curtly, tone a lot sharper than it had been before. "If anything goes wrong, particularly if she is being trained in the village, she will be a danger to herself and the rest of Konoha."

Yashiro's face became stonier by the minute as he realised that the child was going to be taken on a training trip, without another Uchiha for a period of time. Jiraiya assumed he thought that they were going to try and sway her loyalty towards the village and not the clan - he guessed the clan head didn't know Ama very well. From what he had seen, the girl was not one to give loyalty away so easily.

"This is quite a ... sudden proposal, Hokage-sama. We would need to discuss this within our clan." the Uchiha head said carefully. Minato shook his head.

"I'm afraid that can't be done. I want her out before I make the announcement that we are officially at war."

The atmosphere of the room changed considerably after that statement.

"So it is war." Yashiro breathed, brows creasing in stress. Jiraiya knew the feel, and felt a tiny inkling of pity for the new head. Not even a year into his new job and he's already having to deal with a war.

"She needs good protection as she is still little, as well as proper training for the next few years." Yashiro's eyes narrowed.

" _Years?"_ he repeated stonily.

"Yes." Jiraiya's blond student said patiently. "Years. This war is not going to be a short one and I will have to meet with you once more for your advice on tactics."

Jiraiya was definitely very impressed with how Minato was dealing with this situation. He wasn't here to discuss the matter about Amaterasu, he had already decided on what was going to happen. He was just letting the clan know about his decision while making it look like they had a say in it by covering it up with politeness and seeming like he was asking them for advice. Saying directly to someone that the Hokage wanted their advice on something as major as war tactics was a blatant show of respect and the clan head knew that.

"I would be honoured to advise you." Yashiro inclined his head. "I would like to request that we receive progress reports on Amaterasu's training, and that we be the first to evaluate her on her return. I trust you understand that there are certain Kekkei Genkai training sessions that she will be missing out on."

"We will also trust that you will protect Amaterasu as a holder of the Sharingan. I am certain this will be very unlikely, but if there are any complications then we will expect Amaterasu's body will be disposed of accordingly." The second-in-command spoke up quietly.

The Uchiha had definitely stepped up their corpse-destroying practices to stop the stealing of any sharingan. This took place particularly after the meeting with Minato about the final words of Fugaku Uchiha, where he had disclosed that the attacker behind the Kyūbi had been an Uchiha himself. Fugaku had also expressed how the clan should be more careful and aware of the whereabouts of every member of the clan - he said that the fact that they hadn't even noticed one of them had become a traitor was ridiculous and just plain embarrassing. (His words, not Minato's, the Hokage had insisted).

Jiraiya wasn't sure how his student was dealing with the fact that his own student was a traitor to the village. He realised he wasn't really sure how Minato was dealing with all this at all - it seemed as though he was throwing himself into work and obsessing over it (particularly with affairs relating to a small black haired girl), and simply blocking it all out...which wasn't healthy.

The Sage realised he had zoned out for the final pleasantries and that they were standing to leave.

"Could I ask who Amaterasu's teacher will be?" Yashiro asked finally. At the reply and Jiraiya's cheery wave, the clan head's expression immediately soured once more.

* * *

"I still don't understand."

Amaterasu smiled at him and told him not to worry, twirling her pen in her fingers before going through the steps of the question again.

Arata's life had changed after meeting the girl in front of him and he had never had a chance to even say thank you. Every time he brought it up she had waved him off and told him that she had nothing to do with the refurbishment of the orphanage, but Arata knew.

She had come back late that particular night after all, grinning brightly at him when she saw that he was waiting for her to return from her delivery (as he always had), discarding the trolley and leaping at him to give him a large hug.

Needless to say the little boy had been confused at the sudden display of emotion, especially after the tiny Uchiha in front of him had told him that it was all going to be okay now.

And it was okay. The day after, people had come - people from _high ranks_ in the clan, he could tell from the uniforms - and had gotten rid of Tami and her witches, despite their screeching protests. Arata had been terrified that they were being abandoned completely, but soon after the nice caretakers that had only been with them for short amounts of time returned and the building started to be renovated too.

Little Amaterasu Uchiha had simply regarded the work with what seemed like an air of smug approval and that was how he knew that she had been the one that was behind it. Arata was always watching her, because she was so fascinating.

She left after a year with no warning however, and Arata's life continued - much better than what it had been before, but without her. He was able to learn, make friends in the orphanage, explore the village and eat lots of food.

"Do you get it now?"

The pretty coal black eyes in front of him hadn't changed, even though she had grown.

"Oi Arata, are you even listening?"

He grinned sheepishly at her, and she rolled her eyes before going on a rant about how he was never going to graduate if he didn't _listen_.

Arata got he got to meet her again in class at the academy. It had been the beginning of his second year and the four-year-old Uchiha had popped up again in his life. She was still tiny but it was there he realised that she was smart. Ridiculously so. She was bored during most lessons, having spent the first one flicking through the textbook in heated curiosity, and Arata returned to staring at her in awe.

There had been murmurings among the students about how she was the jinchūriki and mutters about freaks, but Ama had smiled cheerily at him and he immediately knew she hadn't changed, and that she definitely wasn't a monster.

It was only after their first taijutsu session that he realised that she was good at _everything._ She flipped boys twice her size with a simple twist and moved smoothly from kata to kata when used as a demonstration to the rest of the class. Her accuracy with the weapons was insane and her jutsu were always flawless. There was nothing she did _wrong._ He had heard whispers among the kids about how she was _the_ Shisui Uchiha's little sister and that it was no wonder that she was such a genius.

Arata saw him once when he came to pick her up. Shisui was tall and had the standard Chūnin vest on, despite only being ten years old! The orpahn couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened when he realised that he too was turning ten in a few months time. Perhaps being a genius ran in their family.

Needless to say she wasn't in his class for more than a week, but since she didn't graduate until two weeks ago he had been able to see her regularly in the playground.

"Ama, we need to go." Arata jumped, protectively leaning towards the girl before he realised that the person who had just appeared was none other than Itachi Uchiha, the boy she spent most of her time with at the academy. Itachi was a couple of years younger than Arata, but like Amaterasu had moved up swiftly through the years and graduated even faster than Ama had.

Arata didn't really like Itachi. He was detached and quiet, unlike Ama who was always warm and friendly. He nodded to Itachi who civilly did the same, and Arata couldn't help but wishfully take notice of the Konoha headband on his forehead... but Itachi was scary.

He remembered a time when he overheard the last years being horrible when little Ama was moved up into their year, saying things about how there was 'no way she got there by her own merit' as a 'useless girl' who obviously 'didn't know what it meant to be a ninja' as well as some truly _disgusting_ stuff about where they thought a girl's place was. They spent a good five minutes bad mouthing the Uchiha privilage, how Amaterasu was the demon that attacked the village and how she was going to kill them all in their sleep. Arata remembered seeing Itachi and Ama walking out of the building towards them, noticing how Itachi's expression was stonier than normal and how his fists were clenched. Ama had immediately greeted Arata brightly, seemingly not noticing the rude boys and trotting over but Itachi didn't join them for a while.

It was only when Arata was sent to the nurse's office to deliver some bandages later in the afternoon that he realised the same boys were lying in the infirmary with severe injuries. Two of them were let off with purple bruises dotting their limbs, but the three who had said most of the bad stuff shared a broken leg, a broken arm, two twisted ankles and four black eyes between them.

Arata shivered at the memory. Itachi was _scary_.

"We're going to have to go through this some other time." Ama said apologetically as they stood up from their positions lying on their fronts.

"It's okay, I think I get it now." he said cheerily. Ama gave him a deadpan look before she waved and leapt off with the other boy. He didn't know it then but it would be years before he saw her again. Arata watched until her form disappeared before sighing and re-evaluating the question in the book.

He still didn't get it.

* * *

"How was 'training'?" Ama looked up in surprise at at Itachi's cold tone before snorting.

"What's your problem with Arata?" she asked. "I went to train but he was there so I helped him with homework."

"Hn." A pause. "He made Izumi cry, you know."

"Eh?! Arata did?! Why?" Ama exclaimed confusedly. She couldn't imagine Arata being anything but sweet.

"She got moved up into his year and he was mean to her about it." Itachi explained in a monotone. "Apparently." he added as an afterthought. Amaterasu had to stifle a chuckle. It was amusing to hear Itachi repeat gossip in his usual stiff manner.

"Glad to hear you're still in contact with your friends from the Academy Itachi." she told him cheerily. He glanced at her blandly.

"I'm not." he replied. Ama wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Then how -"

"I'm just observant." he cut in quickly. There was a moment of silence before Ama burst out laughing.

"You STALKER!" she choked out between laughs, and they became louder when she caught sight of Itachi's disgruntled expression.

"I am not." he protested with a glare, but it did nothing to cease the girl's guffaws.

"Hey Itachi, do you _like_ Izumi-chan?" Ama teased. "Is that why you're so _observant_ with her? I heard you went for dango the other day - was it a _date_?"

" _No._ " came the vehement reply and within a second Ama was ducking under a half-hearted punch. She stuck her tongue out at him as he reached for her again, jumping back to create space.

It was cute how Itachi was reaching the early teenage stages already. Ama knew how popular he was with the girls from the Academy and she was going to thoroughly enjoy teasing him for the rest of his life. She knew that another Itachi from another universe would never even dream of responding to her teasing jabs but here she was, dodging and blowing raspberries at him as he swiped at her with something that resembled a pout on his face.

She was glad. Perhaps the absence of a stern father figure would be good for Itachi. Fugaku was a great clan leader but he definitely hadn't been the best father. As the late Uchiha head's face resurfaced, a sharp pain twinged in her chest and Ama faltered, making her trip and getting caught in Itachi's kick on her way down.

She grunted as it collided with her side and she rolled away, winded. Itachi's face was suddenly there, brows creased in evident worry as she gasped for breath.

"I'm fine." she wheezed with a weak grin. "Tripped over my own feet. You would never have got me otherwise." Itachi rolled his eyes before helping her up and hoisting her onto his back when it was evident the kick had connected harder than they thought.

"I'm actually fine." she insisted into his ear.

He was silent.

"Itachi, you don't have to apologise. It was my fault."

No reply.

"Itaaachiiiii." she whined annoyingly.

...Crickets.

"Fine. I mean, this is great. It means next time I see Izumi I can gloat about how you carried me home."

A pause, then - "OW ITACHI YOU BITCH!"

* * *

The two were summoned to the Hokage's office shortly after they finished their chores at Itachi's house (optional chores, but they both knew that Mikoto was having a hard time). Upon entry though, Amaterasu's eyes rounded. There was quite a crowd in there.

Minato was in his chair, Jiraiya leaning against the wall behind him, Yashiro and Shisui were standing erect opposite the Hokage, Kakashi was in his usual slouch off to the side, and surprisingly the bushy haired man she vaguely recognised as Shikaku Nara was standing on the Hokage's right.

"Hello, you two. Do come in. Don't worry, you're not in trouble." Minato said in his usual friendly manner. Ama's form relaxed.

"Oh good." she mumbled before she strode forward and plopped down on his desk. There was a silence in which she felt a burning gaze on her back and she slowly turned to see her brother glaring daggers at her. She slowly slid herself off and meekly made her way to Itachi's side, definitely noticing Minato's amused cough and Jiraiya's snigger.

"Apologies for that." Shisui mumbled.

"We have called you all here to officially announce a few things for members of the Uchiha Clan that will take place in next few years." Minato began slowly, and Ama was confused. Was this standard procedure? She felt the familiar feeling of a silencing seal being placed and stood slightly straighter in anticipation.

"We will begin with Itachi." Minato gestured to Kakashi to continue.

"Itachi Uchiha will remain with his genin team for the next ten months and will take the chūnin exams in Iwagakure after this period. If he is successful then he will join my squad, specialising in combat for an unspecified amount of time."

Specialising in combat? That was quite strange… Ama frowned. All teams were combat teams. You didn't really specifically say that a squad would be specialising in combat and engaging with the enemy unless ...war. Her brain ran on overdrive as she whizzed throughout the timeline, trying to think of a war that had happened when Naruto was two, only to come up empty. There wasn't one that she could remember.

Unease stirred in her gut.

"Shisui Uchiha will be joining me as an apprentice for the next ten months, before joining Kakashi Hatake in his squad for an unspecified amount of time." Shikaku continued, and Ama gaped. Did this ever happen in the series? Since when was Shisui taught by a _Nara_ of all people?! How did the Uchiha head agree to this?

The 'for an unspecified amount of time' was also really bugging her and she needed to know if her speculations were correct. If there _was_ going to be a war, that meant she had already fucked up the canon majorly.

Of course, with Minato alive, Jiraiya back in the village, a new Uchiha clan head and countless others it was evident she already had, but it only hit her now. She was feeling dread pool in her stomach.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm missing something." she interrupted sharply, ignoring Shisui's hiss and Yashiro's glare.

"You may as well continue." the Nara head drawled.

"When did I miss a declaration of war?"

The range of reactions at that would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so grave. Her brother and Itachi were going to be fighting in a war within the next year and she couldn't help but notice how _small_ they were next to the adults. This hadn't happened in the canon. How did she know they wouldn't die in this war?

Yashiro and Itachi just looked confused, Shisui seemed like he wanted to disappear, Jiraiya and Kakashi were definitely amused, Minato was unfazed and Shikaku seemed speculative.

"You didn't, Ama. It hasn't been declared yet." Minato told her patiently but she didn't look happy.

"It's against Kumo, isn't it?" she realised. Hinata's kidnapping! How could she have forgotten about that. Sarutobi had simply let Kumo get away with it but she should have known that Minato would never -

Said Hokage nodded in confirmation and she tried very hard to be calm.

It was _war._ War! Already! They had just come out of a war three years ago, could they really deal with another? Who was going to die this time? Obito and Rin's demise flashed in her mind.

"What will I be doing for the next ten months?" Because she _had_ to join Kakashi's squad too. They couldn't leave her out of that. She was definitely going to be good enough in the next ten months, especially as Minato had paired her up with a one-to-one tutor. She _was_ going to be with her brother and her best friend.

"Now, if you had just been patient we'd have gotten to that -" Jiraiya began with a wary look, but Ama wasn't having any of it.

"What will I be doing for the next ten months before I join Kakashi's squad?" she asked once more, slower this time.

"Ama." She didn't look up at the silver haired ANBU. She was denying, denying, denying but -

"You're not going to join my squad." There was a silence.

"You can't do this to me." she said quietly.

"Amaterasu Uchiha, you are going to be my apprentice for an unspecified amount of time - "

 _Unspecified amount of time._ She was going to be under Jiraiya's wing for the _whole duration of the war_?

"You _cannot_ do this to me." she repeated coldly, glaring fiercely up at the blond Hokage.

"You expect me to sit back and just _be okay_ with the fact that my brother and my best friend are going off to war - they're _children! How is that okay?"_ her voice was rising in volume, her breaths becoming more laboured and she was so, _so_ angry. "Shisui's _eleven_ and this'll be his _second war_ \- how is that _okay?!_ "

"You're a child too, what difference will you make?" came the drawled reply from Shikaku.

"The problem isn't the _difference_ I'd make. It's the fact that I'd _be there."_ she hissed. "If they get hurt, I'd _be there,_ if they're fine I'd still be there and if they die I'd much prefer _being there to know!"_

She was yelling now, fury making her vision become tunnelled and the hand on her arm did nothing to calm her.

"Ama, calm down -"

"It's a shame war tactics aren't decided on what a genin _prefers._ " the Nara clan head said coldly.

Don't you _dare_ look down on me you _little_ _shit._ There was an uncomfortable pressure that was slowly building up in her stomach and head.

"Itachi, get away from me." she uttered, eyes not leaving the Nara. He was standing between her and her brother, and that was unforgivable.

"Ama -"

Amaterasu suddenly had a very good guess what the building feeling was. She thought the seal was stable so why was it -

"Get _away from me!_ " she shrieked in panic, just as the pressure in her body released.

The world exploded.

* * *

Minato slammed his hand down onto his desk and shuffled through hand signs just as Amaterasu released the demonic chakra, reaching out a hand and teleporting most of the blast away into the countryside. Shisui had grabbed Itachi and disappeared moments before she lost control as planned, and the others were also gone, presumably to where they had arranged to meet.

Minato didn't really want to do this but it was the only way to induce a response from Ama as a jinchūriki. They needed to gauge how strong her willpower was in suppressing the Kyūbi's power and the safest place to test it in was here, when everyone was ready for it. Last time Ama had slept over, Minato had made a few adjustments to her seal, weakening it in a controlled manner so that only a fraction of the Kyūbi's power could be released at maximum capacity.

Minato twirled one of his kunai and held it in his mouth before shooting forwards and grabbing Ama with a chakra coated hand, teleporting them to a clearing far from the village.

Just as he touched the ground he dodged under a swipe and appeared next to his sensei, watching attentively as the girl heaved. Kakashi, Yashiro, Shikaku were circling her, watching carefully as she seemed to struggle in what looked like a seizure as a red cloak of chakra formed over her skin.

"Sorry." she grunted, and Minato felt the surprise of all the shinobi around him. The girl opened her eyes and shuddered, seemingly trying to contain the chakra before going through hand signs.

Yashiro shouted in warning but Ama turned away from them to release her jutsu, a huge _Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique_ that roared throughout the forest, leaving incinerated stumps in its wake.

"Too much." she gasped. "Chakra!"

She went through more hand signs and shot jutsu after jutsu at the forest, seeming to take note of where everyone was and deliberately not aiming there.

"She's in control." Jiraiya realised in surprise. Kakashi walked until he was standing right in front of her, and his theory seemed to be proved as she turned away from him to release her next jutsu.

"How is she doing that?" Shikaku murmured, confused. She stopped her jutsu onslaught and groaned, grasping her head and thrashing about in evident pain, and Minato's heart twinged.

"Oh for heavens sake _,_ calm down." she growled. There was a stunned pause. She suddenly grimaced and yelped, wheezing out a cry, and Minato couldn't take it anymore. He snatched the seal off his sensei and immediately slapped it onto her forehead, watching as the red bubble of demonic chakra faded from her skin.

The child was left gasping for breath, lips chapped and eyes dim. Worry was etched on his face as he felt that her temperature was much too high but suddenly a small hand grabbed his wrist.

"You just said that to see how I'd react, right?" she croaked. The Hokage gently lifted her into his arms.

"I'm sorry." he murmured, but she smiled briefly before falling unconscious. Jiraiya looked at him thoughtfully after he passed her to Kakashi to take her to the hospital.

"You were right. She could handle it." he said grudgingly.

"I must say, I did have my doubts, Hokage-sama, but it seems you know her much better than we thought." Yashiro agreed.

"I'd say I could train her to… three tails?" Jiraiya yawned.

"I vote for two." Shikaku intoned.

"I also vote two." the Uchiha clan head followed, ignoring Jiraiya's scowl. Minato nodded.

"Train her to two, sensei, and she should be ready. Then we'll continue with our plans." the Yondaime said calmly.

This war was going to go better than the last one. Minato was going to make sure of it.

* * *

 **Ages!**

 **Sasuke/Naruto - 2**

 **Amaterasu - 6**

 **Itachi/Izumi - 7**

 **Arata - 9**

 **Shisui - 10**

 **Kakashi - 19**

 **Lol that ended in quite a damp note. Thought fluff fluff fluuuuuff after all that political jazz - aren't the kiddies all cute? Although is Arata cute or creepy, I can't really tell. (My instincts say slightly creepy.) SORRY I've been away for so long, my life has been HECTIC, it's been awful! Thanks for all your lovely reviews. I love replying to all of you! If you're Anon or not online I can't talk to you though - help a girl out and log on will ya?**

 **Things are heating up, huh? There's a war that didn't happen in canon, Ama's going to leave the village and it's going to be LIT. Anyways I'm super excited, look forward to the mess to come! (Organised mess, because Simone is bae).**

 **Also, just a question: How obvious is it that I'm British and not American? Do you guys notice the slight spelling differences? Just curious.**

 **And another question cuz I'm greedy af: Kakashi vs Shisui? - who'd win? (let the battle commence :P)**

 _Important note: A quick thank you to the Anon who reviewed about the possible rude meaning of the shortened form of Ama for Amaterasu's name - thank you **very** much for letting me know, because I had absolutely no clue. I've never learnt Japanese, and I only know what I've heard from watching Naruto so I was completely in the dark - hope no one was offended by this. Ama's nickname will continue to be Ama, but just as a note I've copied the Anon's review into this A/N so people can see I mean no harm. (Don't go around screaming I LOVE AMA ok lovely readers? I know it'll be hard, but refrain yourselves xx) _

Anon chapter 2 . 5h ago

I like your story so far. I just want you to be aware of something that caught my attention and may have caught others as well. The nickname 'Ama' while an obvious short-hand choice for Amaterasu, made me automatically think of the Japanese insult equivalent for bitch in Japanese with the same pronunciation. I am aware that it is the kanji for Heaven in the name Amaterasu, but colloquially, heaven is more commonly pronounced as 'ten' then 'ama'. I'm also aware that 'ama' can refer to the Japanese female pearl divers, but it is more conversationally known for the insult in everyday modern Japanese and I've never heard it used for a name by itself. I'm not saying that it can't be a name, Japanese is beautiful in that nearly any word can be used for a name and carry a lot of meaning with it, but I wanted you to know of its potential double meaning. I thought you'd appreciate it since you are using honorifics in your story.

 **The previous chapters have been edited, but nothing major so you won't need to re-read them ;)**

 **Love youuuuuuu aaaaalllll!**

 **Lei xx**

 **PS Spread positivity y'all. Spread it wide and far okay? xo**

 **EDIT 11/07/17 Hizashi isn't dead. It's quite a big change but please bear with me. Becomes relevant in Chap 17.**

 **12/07/17 - Ages!**


	13. Thirteen

Minato Namikaze was not okay. Jiraiya found himself thinking this with a dreaded certainty that he didn't want to address. At all.

Minato had always been the one that everyone went to if something went wrong, because he was always on top of things, had fantastic advice (for all subjects apart from romance, strangely, given who his sensei was), and had everything worked out in that little blond head of his. He oozed sincerity and empathy to the point where new people sometimes used to confuse him as the medic of their group.

That was until they saw him in action, and before his 'Flee on sight' order crossed the continent of course. That kid _changed_ when his village was threatened.

The Sage had found a tracking seal that had been placed on the Uchiha jinchūriki, quite by accident too if he were to be honest. He was simply doing a quick check-up of her main seal when he swiped a chakra tinged hand by her leg and the tracking seal reacted by revealing itself. After informing Minato of this the Hokage had paled rapidly, stress lines standing out clearly on his young face.

It was an immaculate seal and Jiraiya knew Minato understood what this meant. He did not expect the blonde's response however.

"She's not safe in the village." the blond had breathed, looking panicked. "It's Danzo. He knows. Sandaime-sama warned me of this. He's out of control and whatever happens, he _can't_ get to Amaterasu."

"Minato." he had replied gently. "Danzo is a member of the Konoha Council. It's not going to be easy so you have to be calm about this."

"Sensei, you have to take her."

Cue blink.

"What?"

"It's not safe for her to remain here. Take the seal off when you're far enough out of the village and keep her out of here while I deal with all… this." Minato continued quickly, words overlapping in his haste as he opened a scroll. "It must have been then. It _must_ have. Kushina had objected then - I've been so _stupid."_ At his student's mutterings, Jiraiya had flared his chakra in anger.

"Snap out of it. Calm down and think this through." he told him quietly when the blond hesitated in surprise.

"The Yamanaka _hijutsu (secret technique)_. Inoichi complained of frequent headaches at the hospital a few weeks later and they reported that there may have been memory tampering involved." his student rushed. "Danzo was the only one in that room and it was after then that Ama was able to use the sharingan. He must have done something to her then."

The fear in his student's voice cemented the Sage's worry.

Minato was definitely not okay. He needed help. He had lost his wife and instead of grieving and accepting his loss, he had shifted his attention to the small Uchiha...probably because Kushina had cherished her so much. He was clinging onto her like a lifeline, focusing as much as he could around the child... which was dangerous not only for his mental health but for the village too, as he was first and foremost the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. Jiraiya had known this and instead of dealing with the problem at the root, he agreed to the slightly ridiculous idea of taking a six year old girl under his tutelage for an unspecified length of time.

The white-haired man did inform his own sensei about his worries however, dragging the retired Professor back into the picture. Hiruzen Sarutobi had definitely managed to take some time off and grieve his own wife's passing, as well as put in some work looking after his grandson. The previous Hokage had agreed to be more active in the field of politics and to mentor Minato a bit more, as it was evident that the young Hokage wasn't quite ready to take everything on by himself.

Feeling slightly better, knowing that Minato wouldn't be able to make brash decisions by himself, Jiraiya had mused over his own decision of not dealing with his own student himself, only to realise that the main reason behind it was that he didn't trust _her_.

This was why, at this point in time, he had just left the village at a slow walking pace with said unconscious child on his back. He waited till he was well out of sight of the village walls before casting a simple genjutsu over them to make it look like he was just a hunchbacked man.

Her strange maturity matched the other geniuses of her generation and her… peculiar knowledge was seemingly justified by the ambiguity of the Sharingan's abilities, but there was just something off about her that he was instinctively wary of.

Minato really was overly compliant with her. He let slide every disobedient act she flaunted in his office, justified everything she did, halted the planned moving of a whole compound because the _child_ didn't feel it was right, made secure connections with the Uchiha clan head for her and just seemed to be overflowing with _trust_ in the child. Trust that Jiraiya didn't understand.

"The Uchiha are combat specialists, they always have been. Their potential is being wasted with so many of them in the Konoha Military Police Force." his student had pointed out. "I planned on getting the village closer to them anyway, so Ama didn't really have much to do with it. Fugaku's order of making every single one of his active shinobi help out in the movement against the Kyūbi just cemented my decision to trust them more."

Well the other clans weren't going to just quietly sit by if the Uchiha were shown more favouritism, so he'd have to explain his reasoning to them too.

Sure, if the child did have knowledge of the future like she seemed to with the Kyūbi attack, Jiraiya could see the logic in keeping her close to avoid any repeat of that scenario, where information was omitted out of fear and confusion. But keeping her close didn't mean listening to her every suggestion. It felt as if rules didn't apply to the child and it was worrying. If Minato wanted to train her up to be as powerful as her potential promised her to be, and the girl ended up not being loyal...it would be a major blow not only to the village but to Minato's mental wellbeing as well. If Jiraiya didn't know any better he could have even tampered with the idea that the Uchiha was manipulating his student.

The whole situation was _dangerous._ The influence the kid seemed to have on his student was crystal clear to him, and if anyone picked up on it (particularly the girl's clan) they could manipulate her and in turn control the Hokage. Minato also had many enemies, the numbers of which only increased after becoming the leader of the hidden village, and it was also why he just _shouldn't_ have too many close friends or family members, because the Hokage was supposed to regard every single person in their village the same. If that was not the case then people close to him could become targets and if they were compromised the effect on the Hokage would be severe.

The Sage would admit that the child was smart. Ridiculously so. She effortlessly picked up inferred pieces of information and was able to look underneath the underneath because it came naturally to her, so he could understand why his student wanted to nurture the raw talent she seemed to have in spades. It would be extremely useful to have a skilled spy in their ranks. But the child was just that - a _child._ She lacked the sheer experience necessary to even make a reliable shinobi at this point. So _why_ was his own genius of a student listening to her thoughts and opinions with such attentiveness that made it seem like the words she was speaking were so precious?

The member of the _Densetsu no Sannin_ certainly appreciated Amaterasu's work ethic. When he had followed her around for a month during her time in the Academy he saw how she helped and reached out to her less talented peers and helped them. That had been particularly interesting as the members of the Uchiha clan generally avoided trying to outright aid their classmates, as they were usually pressured into being the best in their own year.

However interactions with anyone other than the ex-clan head's elder son and one of the Uchiha orphans stopped there. She declined any offers to play after school, refused to participate in any social events but went home each day and continued with her everyday routine. It was very monotonous but she seemed to find stability in having a timetable tailored to herself.

She would train alone after school finished, picking a small and secluded training ground on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound and going through a number of meditation sequences, some ridiculously advanced chakra control exercises and then choosing a jutsu to practise relentlessly for a full hour. After this she would meet up once more with either her brother or Fugaku's son, or both, and train some more in taijutsu or bukijutsu. Her attentiveness to detail and general perfectionism was really quite impressive for someone her age and would pay off in dividends later in her career.

She would then spend the evening in either the Uchiha matriarch's house or Minato's, helping around with Sasuke and Naruto as needed.

After returning home she studied, using a strange combination of making notes and seemingly memorising chunks of information with her Sharingan. When Jiraiya had flicked through the kind of books she used to read he was taken aback when the subjects ranged from shinobi books such as 'The History and Politics of the Formation of Iwagakure' and 'Lacerations and how to fix them' to civilian books like 'The Basics of Neonatal Care' and 'Poisonous Plants to avoid when Travelling'.

Why she felt the need to have such a wide breadth of knowledge he didn't know. It could just be childish curiosity...but he thought there was something more than that. It felt as though she was _preparing_ for something, stocking up on information that she might need in the future.

There was definitely something she wasn't telling them.

Jiraiya felt the child on his back stir around midday on the second day of walking, surprising him. The jinchūriki's healing capability was definitely impressive. The hospital had reported severe chakra burns to her muscles and coils and were worried it would affect her growth. They had told him that it would probably take her around a week to fully recover. This was a good thing however, as it meant her training could get very intense without having too severe negative effects on the young child's physical health.

"What day is it?" came the high-pitched croak after a few minutes and despite himself, Jiraiya's mouth quirked upwards in amusement. Although he would never _ever_ admit it out loud, this one was definitely the cutest out of all the brats in Konoha.

...Stupid Uchiha and their stupid perfect genes.

"It's been two days since you were last awake. Sorry you couldn't say proper goodbyes but we had to leave." came the cheery answer.

"We're obviously in no rush to get anywhere." the voice immediately pointed out dryly. "We could have caught up with this pace in half a day so… why did we leave in such a hurry?"

The Sannin wasn't sure how much longer it would take before the fact that she kept surprising him… surprised him. He suspected it would be a long time, because it was weird to witness such a small child not only deduce things quickly but have the confidence to be extremely blunt about her thoughts. Annoyance spiked.

Minato's words resurfaced in his mind, and Jiraiya paused before replying. "Tell me what you think."

His student had told him that it was better to make her talk through her thoughts because she usually ended up at the right answer anyway. He also told him that listening to her thought processes would make him understand her better, and that was exactly what Jiraiya needed to do right now. He needed to understand, so he would sit back, observe, analyse, and come to his eventual conclusion. This girl was going to be under close scrutiny for the next year or so. Jiraiya was _not_ going to let anything that could even vaguely be a threat slip by unnoticed.

"You're taking me away because of the war. But if it was just for safety it would have been easier to protect me within the village walls so that's not it." she began slowly. "Maybe there's a threat within the village too... maybe for my knowledge, maybe because of my status as a jinchuriki... and Minato doesn't like the idea of using me in that way."

As always, Minato was right. The girl was spot on. And _oh yes_ , the war. Another thing Jiraiya was _not_ happy about. Was Minato even thinking?

"You're quite an interesting choice for a sensei though." she said thoughtfully, and Jiraiya made an indignant face. "I obviously have an aptitude for ninjutsu, so I thought Kakashi would be my tutor. Not to mention he could help me with my Sharingan at the same time…"

He was pretty sure he could feel the scrutinising look she gave to the back of his head.

"You'd also be a better contribution to the war than Kakashi would, but I guess he doesn't have as much experience travelling around as you do." she continued. "You're not going to let me sign your contract with the toads because Naruto will do that, but you'll probably want to teach me some fuinjutsu, teach me how to control the _nasty_ chakra, and... oh."

Understanding rippled through her body and Jiraiya was curious.

"Are you're going to teach me about your spy network?" Bingo.

"Heh, not too shabby." Who was he kidding, nothing she just said was wrong.

"I still don't get why we couldn't have waited until I was awake to say goodbye." the girl continued. "We definitely could have caught up with this pace if you've only been walking for two days."

Jiraiya was silent.

"I _wanted_ to say goodbye." the tired voice said slowly after a pause. He was surprised at the volume of regret laced in the child's tone.

Shit. Was this kid going to cry?

There was a deep sigh.

"Sorry. It just hit that I'm not going to see anyone for at least a year." Amaterasu said quietly.

The Sage felt very uncomfortable. It had never occurred to him that the child would get homesick at all. It was quite an alien feeling to him, as he had been away from home for a very long time and his special people had also gone their separate ways. For him, the feelings of home that Konoha exerted didn't outweigh the pain he had suffered there. He thought the girl cared more about knowledge and gaining strength for her future rather than...

He realised he had been very short-sighted in this aspect. Of course she was going to get homesick, she had a brother _._ Family. A clan.

Maybe he had been looking at this the wrong way. She was still a kid after all. He mentally groaned. True feelings, he had decided, were no good in life - particularly when related to things of the past. That was why he put up a facade whenever he was in the village. That was what he had been like before anything bad had happened, and that was how he was going to continue to act. Just so he could at least _pretend..._

The stone cold walls of his mind clamped down over his shifting emotions.

"I wanted to tell Itachi that I'm sorry for scaring him, that I'm not a monster, and not to worry because I'm going to get it under control." a soft murmuring reached his trained ears and he focused on it in as much of a detached manner as he could. "I wanted to tell him to train hard so I don't beat him up _too_ badly when I come back... but not to neglect family, because we both know Mikoto's having a tough time and she needs him there. He already knows of course but I'd remind him that he can talk to Shisui whenever he wants to about anything he needs, and I'd tell him to write to me if he can, because he's not a burden and everyone needs someone to vent to."

Jiraiya felt strangely sombre. From the slight slurring of the girl's speech it was clear that she was still half asleep, but it also showed her sincerity. He walked, letting her continue uninterrupted.

"Shisui would know everything I'd say to say to him before even I did." came a dry chuckle after a short, contemplative pause. "He's dealt with having someone like me dumped on him very well for someone so young. It must not have been easy, having the responsibility of a troublesome toddler as a child himself... I've been an awful sister, making him worry all the time and holding him back, haven't I?"

There was something weird about that statement. "But you're a child too." he pointed out.

There was a thoughtful hum in reply. "Sometimes I don't feel like it." she yawned. " Sometimes I feel old. Really old."

That struck something in Jiraiya. That tone... it was knowing. She wasn't just being queer. It tickled at the back of his mind and he tucked away the thought for later.

"Next...I'd tell Minato to please get some more naps with Naruto. Have an hour each day to just _relax,_ because I'm getting worried about him. I want to tell him that I'm sorry for making him like this, for leaving him alone... I'm sorry for not being able to do anything more... and that somehow, I _will_ make it better. Somehow." she mumbled with such a sorrowful tone that it made Jiraiya uncomfortable. She still blamed herself for the death of Kushina then. That...was unexpected.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, breaths becoming shallower as silent sobs wracked her body. Jiraiya took three more steps before stopping and peering over at her face, only to realise she had fallen asleep again, tears lining her chubby cheeks.

He felt very, very confused.

* * *

"You haven't mentioned anything about your training."

Ama glanced up at him curiously while munching contentedly on the berries they had just foraged. They had been walking for close to a week and were apparently just about to reach a small town. Jiraiya had not answered any of her questions regarding where they were going, what direction they were travelling on or how long they were going to go for, but they had had nice chats about a variety of topics.

"I'm supposed to be making you stronger and you said you wanted to join up with your brother and friend, but you don't seem to be in any rush to learn anything."

His tone was slightly accusing, if Amaterasu were to be honest.

"Do you want the long answer or the short answer?" she asked bluntly before popping another few of the round fruits into her mouth - these were _good._ Her question was another way of asking how long their break was going to be. Ama had gotten used to lounging on the broad branches of the trees that grew in _Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire)_ and sleeping in the little camping kits that were in her small pack. Apparently, it was a parting gift from the Uchiha clan and she loved it. It contained everything from a full camping set to a penknife and flint and steel, all sealed in a customised formula so that it wouldn't be heavy at all.

"Hmm, keep it under 5 minutes." came the drawled reply, and Amaterasu had decided to stop being offended when the man seemed to doze off as soon as she began talking. She theorised it was his way of focusing, in a way. (Or maybe he actually was taking a nap, she didn't really know).

"I thought you _have_ been training me. I don't know about you, but I definitely learnt a lot in the past week." she shrugged. "I guess the stuff you explicitly taught me to do was how to hunt, skin and cook animals, how to cover up our tracks after camping and how to find water."

At Jiraiya's opening mouth she quickly added, "I know we learnt the theory at the academy but actually experiencing it is learning something new in itself. You haven't told me anything about where our destination or direction, so you may be trying to get me to work it out. That or you just don't want me to know for other reasons, so I'll leave that judgement to you."

"I've talked to you and found out a lot about what the world is like right now. I mean, you've experienced a lot and you're still alive so you must know a lot. If I haven't learnt anything from even talking to someone like you then there's something wrong with me. I think what surprised me most about what you told me is the current state of Sunagakure... I didn't realise the Third Kazekage had been missing for that long."

There was a grunt of affirmation at that.

"From just being with you and watching how you travel I've learnt how to walk silently and without leaving footprints like you do, and I've been practicing how to scope out my surroundings too. I'm trying to use smell primarily but I think you use sound a lot more, judging from how you react to the environment." she continued thoughtfully. "But you know what else is really interesting? You have a habit of twitching your right hand when you think something is a little off, and your expressions and reactions become more pronounced and a lot more forced to try and cover up your unease. There hasn't even been an actual _threat_ of any calibre since we've left the village so the only thing that must have been putting you on edge must be me."

His right hand twitched.

"You're also not very detailed with your answers to my questions, but you instead try to make me talk a lot, so my guess is that you want to see how I work, because you haven't really decided where I stand." Her voice took on a more sombre lilt at this point, and her black eyes bore into him contemplatively. "Minato told me he 'hand-picked' you so I guess you didn't really have a choice in taking me on. You just agreed that it would be the best solution."

There was a pause in which Jiraiya opened his eyes and their gazes locked. His stare wasn't friendly though, and Ama really had to push to get the following words out.

"My conclusion? You don't trust me, you don't _want_ to train me, and there isn't really anything I can do about that."

Amaterasu was glad that she got that off her chest though. It had really started to bug her and during their week-long walk, she realised that Jiraiya wasn't really someone who talked about his real feelings a lot. He suppressed them so deep that even he almost believed they didn't exist.

But she knew that he had issues. She knew he had had awful experiences, and his personality didn't match that. It had been something she had been deeply thinking about during their time together. She had had a term's worth specialising in psychology for a GP placement, and she had been able to reflect on that.

She theorised that he turned to erotica because it normalised him as a man somewhat, and it was able to lower the public's views and expectations of him, maybe even because he didn't feel as though he deserved the title of Legendary Shinobi along with his teammates. If people didn't treat him like who he was supposed to be, then he _wasn't_ that person and so he _hadn't_ suffered the pain he had suffered...therefore he could go back to simply being happy again.

Of course, the psychiatrist in her knew that was definitely not the case. This was a kind of reverse depression, where the patient convinced themselves to the point that they themselves believed they were okay.

It was the most difficult kind to treat...but Amaterasu wasn't going to task herself with that. She was going to leave the ninja psychology to the specialists. She just wanted the Sage to know that she knew he wasn't happy with her and hopefully work things out to the point that they got to a mutual agreement. She needed his help for the next year or so after all.

The white-haired Sage in front of her pushed himself up to a sitting position, crossing his legs and watching her with a focus that seemed out of place on the usually grinning man.

"What's your motive?"

Amaterasu sighed, cupping her face with her cheek.

"I'm too young for this to be true for the rest of my life, but..." she paused, before giving one more decisive huff. "I'm working to be the best protection to the people that I consider precious. That's my first priority, no matter how hard I deny it and try and convince myself that I care about everyone equally, that's how it's going to be. Next comes the children. Children are innocent, and are easily influenced so I want to protect them. At the orphanage... that wasn't right. How we were treated, how we were viewed by the rest of the population. No child should have to go through that - but I digress."

"So you want to get stronger because you want to protect the people close to you." the man repeated, seeming to relax very slightly at her sincere answer. "Okay. So that'll be your brother, Itachi, Minato..."

"Mikoto, Sasuke, Naruto, Arata, Hana, Izumi, Kosuke, Ichiro..." at his lost face, she added, "My Academy friends." for clarification.

"Okay." Jiraiya said again, seeming to visibly deflate slightly and rubbing his jaw. "Minato, for one, is very strong himself. Is your goal to be stronger than him then?"

"Um. No?" Ama said confusedly. "You don't have to be stronger than someone to protect them. I mean, sure that's true to a certain extent but it's not my _goal_. My goal is to protect everyone where they're lacking. For most of the population it'll be in the form of physical protection, but for others it may be emotional stability, medical help or…whatever else they may need." she concluded with a gesture of her arm.

"Right." the poor Sannin was looking more and more flustered as the conversation went on. It didn't seem to be going where he had wanted it to go.

"But let's take things one at a time. What I'm hoping to get through to you is that I'm not whoever you're scared I might be. I'm going to be working towards being the person that will be there for everyone that matters to me, and I know that a lot of our precious people overlap...so I want you to know that harming them is not in my interests at all."

She breathed out and cleared her throat. Sheesh, she was doing a lot of talking today, but it was important to get this cleared.

"So, will you help me?"

The Sannin scoffed as he stood up, normal demeanour sliding back into place like it had never left.

"We're taking to the trees now so I hope your endurance is acceptable, because the snail's pace was killing me."

The grin that spread across the little girl's face was enough to make the midday sun look dim in comparison.

* * *

 **Somewhere near Kusagakure - 1 month since departure**

"That was pathetic. Don't you Uchiha usually have 100% accuracy?"

"Yeah, when we're not BLIND. And we only get accurate vision you know! All the _precision_ is ours!"

"Aha! I knew it! The Uchiha really are nothing without their eyes aren't they?"

" _Shishō!_ That was rude!"

"Pfft hahaha. Come on, you. Have at it again."

 _Tinkle tinkle tinkle_

 _Thunk thunk_

"Hmm. Not bad, if you compare it to a first year Academy student."

Cue snarl of irritation and -

 _Thunk_

"...That was dangerously close to my face, my _cute_ little student."

 _Thwack_

"OW. SHISHŌ, IS THAT A BROOM?!"

"You should've dodged!"

"I'M FUCKING BLIND!"

 _Thwack_

"SHIT, SERIOUSLY SHISHOU! That stings like a BITCH!"

 _Thwack thwack_

"Language!"

* * *

 **Somewhere near the border of Amegakure - 2 months since departure**

A blindfolded little girl stood in a clearing in the initial stance of the Uchiha standard kata, tense and waiting. The whistle of a kunai gave away its position and she leant just enough out of the way to let it pass harmlessly by before retrieving one of her own and knocking away the quieter whistles that signified shuriken hurtling towards her from another direction. Her ears were trained and chakra was flowing to her eardrums, not too much to overload her other senses but enough to give her an accurate idea of shifts in her surroundings.

There was a feeling of _something_ to her right and she instinctively ducked before blocking what felt like a leg that slammed into her arms. She skidded backwards before weaving under a punch and freewheeling over a low sweep. There was a 'zing' and she immediately shot out her arm with the kunai to block the kunai-laden blow to her side. She flipped backwards to give herself space, a focused frown adorning her features.

"Let's try a little free-for-all, Amako-chan." Her expression shifted to one of surprise.

"Jutsu and everything?" A dry chuckle was heard from her opponent.

"Not from me, but you go for it."

A challenging smirk plastered itself onto the child's lips and she immediately sped through handsigns...before ducking hastily when her shishō appeared and swiped at her head. She scowled.

"I did say to go for it, remember?"

The teasing tone made her blood boil and she gritted her teeth, hooking a few kunai onto her fingers from her pouch. So he was going to test the speed of her handsigns then.

"Fine." she hissed, fixing her blindfold so it wouldn't fall off before shooting forwards and forcing chakra into her legs and hands.

She was _not_ going to lose.

* * *

 **Somewhere in Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers) - 5 months since departure**

"Huh, I guess we've just found the only thing you don't completely suck at."

The six-year-old scowled at the amused look on her teacher's face from her handstand position on the water. This was easy for her - what was he on about? She bounded off the lake as multiple kunai shot into the water where she had just been and her eyes widened a fraction as the water under her exploded outwards, throwing her off before she landed again.

'Still on the surface.' she thought to herself smugly, and Jiraiya looked pleased.

"Hop over here, let's go through some theory."

Ama bounded over, plopping down on the thin muddy banks of the river and watching attentively.

"Show me your _Katon (Fire Release)_."

Amaterasu produced a small fireball.

"What did that feel like?" She paused, thinking for a bit.

"I mould what I need in my core, then I kinda think 'heat' and move it up my throat and out my mouth?" she said slowly.

"Mm-hm. And the _Doton (Earth Release)_?" She grimaced.

"The only one I can do without draining my chakra reserves dry is the _Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique)_." she wrinkled her nose at the thought of the grimy jutsu that left her covered in dirt, particularly clumping in her hair. "That one I don't mould as much. I kinda 'soften' it but then it becomes harder to move into the soil around me."

"That's because you're garbage at Earth Release. What you're doing is a nature transformation and it takes a lot longer to train one different from your primary affinity - but you're an Uchiha so that doesn't count."

"Hey! It _was_ hard work!"

"Yeah yeah. How many can you do?"

The little Uchiha rested her cheek on her hand as she hummed.

"There's Fire… Earth, but not really… I tried Water once but _bleurgh,_ it did _not_ work out. Shisui didn't want me to try Lightning without getting proper training for it first but Wind I'm okay at."

There was a slight silence.

"...Right."

At her shishō's slight hesitation she grinned cheekily.

"Have I _impressed_ the great Toad Sage?" she snarked, dancing swiftly out of the way of the half-hearted swipe at her head.

"In your dreams brat." he huffed. "We're going to focus on your Fire and Wind Releases for the rest of our time. What exercises have you done for Wind Release?" She blinked at him.

"None?" She hedged, making him frown.

"Then what do you mean you're "okay" at it?"

She had the decency to look a tad sheepish.

"I just tried one of the jutsu I read about in the clan library and it… seemed to… work?" she mumbled. Jiraiya's face met his hands as he shut his eyes in exasperation.

"Show me." he finally grumbled. Wind Release was the one that needed the most control. If she had messed up the execution of the jutsu she could've quite easily killed herself.

What was he going to do with a girl that had no fear?

* * *

 **Somewhere in Cha no Kuni (Land of Tea) - 9 months since departure**

" _Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Gale Palm)_!"

Chakra rolled eagerly within her and Amaterasu's hands clapped together as she leapt backwards off the branch. The chasing bandit was blown backwards and slammed into the tree trunk, falling to the ground thirty feet below in a heap. Only instinct from having multiple things thrown at her allowed her to narrowly dodge the senbon aimed at her neck, and she whirled around before powering her next jump with just the right amount of chakra. She shot at the incoming thief and slammed her extended fist into his abdomen, replacing herself with a nearby log to avoid his final, desperate swipe at her throat.

"Shishō! I did it!" she said excitedly, watching the thug that slammed his blade into the log flounder as he fell into the ground. She had finally managed to do a seal-less _Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)_!

"Amako-chan, could you _please_ focus?! And WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT TRYING OUT NEW THINGS DURING A BATTLE?!"

The little girl winced before locking eyes with her final target, who was watching her warily. She grinned sheepishly.

"Oops." she mouthed cheekily before vanishing from the bandit's sight.

After they had roped all twelve bandits around a particularly thick tree trunk, Jiraiya counted the heads and compared them to his slightly tattered bingo book.

"This is barely enough for a meal." he grumbled, looking rather disappointed at the small numbers presented to him.

The little Uchiha munching on her favourite berries next to him rolled her eyes. "Obviously, Shishō. Even I could take these ones." She fully anticipated the bop to her head at that comment and she pouted.

"You. Fifty laps. Now."

"What?! Lap what?"

"Why, the forest of course."

"Lap the _forest_?!"

"Don't forget your new weights! I know that you know your behaviour during this battle was unacceptable."

"Ngh."

* * *

 **Somewhere in Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire) - 11 months since departure**

"It's almost been a full year since we've left." hummed a thoughtful Uchiha as they walked along a well worn path.

"Mmh."

"Say, Shishō. We haven't done any jinchūriki training."

"...I sincerely hope you -"

"Scanned the surroundings twice with chakra, once with attuned hearing and for the past hour with my smell, yes. There's no one around." she huffed, ignoring his glower.

"No, we haven't." he finally admitted. "I'm beginning to think that you don't have to anymore."

"What do you mean?" she turned to face him with a frown on her face.

"We originally intended for you to get it under control so that you could use it to get stronger faster, instead of just having the potential sitting there." the white haired man said thoughtfully. "But you've progressed much faster than any of us expected so I'm thinking to wait until you're about jōnin-level before you try that again. At this stage there's a risk of the chakra doing more harm than good."

"Huh." she murmured at the explanation. "Wouldn't it make sense to get my body used to the foreign chakra since I'm still young and adaptable?"

"Then the fear would be that you'll grow dependent on it. Should the day come that you're no longer the jinchūriki, you may not be able to survive it."

The raven haired girl frowned.

"I thought no one survived the extraction process anyway."

There was a slight pause.

"That's true. But there'd be more of a chance of saving you if you weren't reliant on the chakra for everyday life. If we introduced it often to your system when you're so young that may end up being the case."

"Hn. That's really interesting." she mumbled thoughtfully. "So when does that mean we'll be joining the war effort?"

The Sannin sighed deeply at this.

"Even if you can't use the Kyūbi's chakra, you're still a jinchūriki and thus a target." he said slowly. "At this point you'd be more of a hindrance than a help, really."

The little Uchiha ignored the sting at his words.

"But you'd be more of a help, so that would balance it out. We're a two-for-one package, aren't we?"

Jiraiya looked down at her, dare she say it, _fondly_ , and she grinned hopefully at him.

"No."

She visibly deflated.

"But maaaybe if you can get this next jutsu down in a week we'll start heading towards the border. Maybe. _Only_ if you do it in a week."

"Oooooh deal!"

"Watch closely then."

* * *

 **Hi y'aallll! Uni stuff got me like ARGH. Sorry for the wait. This is literally ALL Jiraiya and Ama! What did ya think? Sorry if there wasn't much action/exciting bits but character development is something I consider really important, so I've focused on that in this chapter. Ama seems to just** _ **grow**_ **on everyone, doesn't she? Haha what a bae.**

 **Thank you so much for all your support, I love you all so much and at this point it's only you guys that are fuelling my motivation for this fic! And this fic is important to me because it lets me relax from all the work I have haha. Relaxation is important everyone! Make sure you have at least an hour where you do something that genuinely makes you happy. That could be anything from watching a sappy k-drama to napping, completely up to you and that's the beauty of it!**

 **Hahaha I digress.**

 **Love you all! As always, drop me a PM or a review and I will ALWAYS get back to you!**

 **Love you!**

 **Lei + Simone xox**


	14. Fourteen

It was actually another eight months before they even started to make for the border. It turned out Jiraiya had flat out trolled her with the week limit on her new jutsu, since it was the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)._

Not that it was a particularly difficult jutsu in theory per say, but there was something about it that needed more than a week.

You know, like a _summoning contract_. She couldn't learn how to summon something if she didn't know what she was trying to summon. Since the Toad Sage wasn't going to be giving his one over any time soon, they were going to have to _find_ one... and that was something that would take months, years, maybe even decades - Ama had heard stories about how people left to search for animal allies in battle and never returned... or died trying to reverse summon themselves into an unknown location.

The Sannin had tried to keep a straight face when the little girl realised that she had been tricked, but ended up smirking that bit too widely every time her scowl turned particularly menacing.

So they had continued training, moving back up the _Hi no Kuni (Fire Country)_ and according to her shishō, were now finding themselves somewhere west of Takigakure, the "Village Hidden by a Waterfall". They had really been pushing on the speed, and Ama could safely say her endurance and stamina had greatly improved. The constant travelling and training had really boosted both her awareness and physical ability.

Amaterasu had learnt a lot. She was being both intellectually and physically challenged all the time, and it meant that for the first time in this world that she was satisfied with how she was progressing. Jiraiya's teaching style was very along the lines of 'Here's what I feel like doing, do what you want with it', and it fit her learning style completely. She was independent, able to pick up something in the morning and having the drive to perfect it by herself without him looking over her shoulder all the time. It meant she didn't hold him back from the work he needed to do too – one day she had to use a henge in a particular village while he went about doing his business, and she didn't pry past what he wanted to tell her. Because that was the thing about trust: you had to give it before you could receive any for yourself.

Learning about current affairs stimulated her overactive brain a lot. Politics hadn't been something that particularly interested her in her past world, but it was so incredibly flawed in this one that once one knew about it, it was ridiculously easy to manipulate. The balance of power in this world was incredibly straightforward too - the _Daimyō (Feudal Lord)_ had the most riches and was the political leader of their own country, and that was who the Kage of each Hidden Village respected, despite the daimyō only getting that position through heritage and no personal merit. It meant they were easily swayed by people of power and only thought of themselves...meaning they were also very predictable.

Amaterasu was jerked out of her thoughts when _something_ that flickered at the edge of her sixth (chakra/instinct... kinda?) sense. Chakra instinctively focused around her ears and her nose flared, and she mentally shifted through what her heightened senses were telling her. She caught eyes with her shishō who suddenly seemed a lot more wary, and signed what she thought was happening.

 _Three. ETA 5 minutes._ Judging from their speed... _hostile...?_ she signed uncertainly, and Jiraiya's lip quirked up in amusement. She needed to work on this. She watched as her shishou signed something back and completely blanched.

 _Attack._

They seemed like a well-oiled team, definitely not like the bandits she was used to taking on. Sure they had fought up to B-ranked opponents before, but that was mainly Jiraiya toying with them and Ama watching how he executed a particular strategy. It was more of a field trip than real battle experience.

 _Ambush?_

She questioned, but then her eyes widened and a bright smile spread across her face as a familiar feeling washed over her. She met the next tree trunk with a loud _thunk,_ shooting backwards the way she came, accelerating towards the pursuers as the chakra signature flared, feeling just so _happy_ because it had just been so _long -_

 _"NII-SAN!"_

She barrelled into one of the bodies and they slammed into the ground, arms wrapping around her small frame protectively so she didn't even end up winded in the slightest.

"Ama-OW!" he wheezed but she was just so _happy_ he was okay and she had missed him and he was taller and his hair was longer and curly as ever and he looked _okay_ and both his eyes were there and he was looking at her, fondly annoyed as usual and just -

"Mwah!"

She planted a wet, slobbery kiss on his cheek and gave him a large hug, squeezing him as tightly as she could, feeling _safe, loved_ and simply _happy -_

" _AMA_!"

Amaterasu felt the breath being forced out of her as she was wrenched out of her brother's arms, and the world around her blurred. Chakra flooded the channels behind her eyes and the next time she opened them they were a mature crimson.

The multiple layers of genjutsu melted away before her.

She was feeling overwhelmed - confused, betrayed and wary all at once and it was clouding her senses and she just didn't know _what_ was going on - Jiraiya had grasped her by her waist, but he was stumbling and woozy and she was being jostled about. She scanned the surroundings, trying to separate her emotions from her actions and calming her erratic breathing before she realised with a start that they were ridiculously outnumbered.

"Shishō."

There was a wheeze as he gasped, and when they stopped on a branch he flickered through hand signs. Amaterasu disabled her kekkei genkai, feeling the cold, iron mask slip into place over her mind as she saw the state her teacher was in.

Perhaps it had followed her over from her last life - 'The Mask' was what her colleagues had called the change that came over her when she was launched into a stressful situation; be it when she was put in charge of a near-death emergency patient or when an artery was severed during her surgery. It was what made her act in a mechanic, methodical way, giving her tunnel vision to do what had to be done without being affected by anything else.

Her teacher looked bad, and she was _angry_. How long had she been in that genjutsu for?! He had a punctured lung, probably several broken ribs, severe internal bleeding by the look of the blood running down his chin, a broken arm - Amaterasu stopped at that. The priority was that he could breathe, and that he didn't aspirate his own blood. She grabbed him under the armpits and hopped off the branch, landing in some bushes and pushed him into the recovery position to keep his airways open no matter what.

His groans and complaints didn't register - they were filtered out as unnecessary in her mind.

"If you move, I will knock you out." she whispered, black eyes dilated and focused, yet unfocused at the same time. _How long_ had she been in that genjutsu for?

"Jiraiya-chan you look awful."

The small Uchiha whipped round with a kunai in hand before she registered that the two frogs were not hostile, giving them a little nod and introducing herself quietly.

"Please stay with us."

The two elderly frogs plopped to her shishō's side, worryingly patting his shoulder and murmuring quickly.

Amaterasu eyes flashed red once more, before checking her reserves - they were around 95% full, even if she were being pessimistic. That was good. Ama then created five kage bunshin, before dispersing four of them into the surrounding foliage.

She then waited, ordering her shishou not to talk. She knew it might trigger a muscle spasm in his oesophagus, which would lead to aspiration, choking and, because his lung was punctured and ribs broken, CPR would be useless. Having him conscious, even though it would be painful for him, would give a better chance of survival since if anything felt worse, he could notify them if anything felt worse.

She felt useless, but that thought was blocked.

The first influx of memories startled her. She had never used it in a real battle before, and remembering 'dying' definitely gave her a fright. Her shadow clone had been creeping in the south western direction from where they were, and had crossed paths with the attackers within two minutes.

The next three snippets of memories made her stomach plummet. They were completely surrounded.

Panic was not an answer, she knew this. It didn't stop the bile rising in her throat however and she retched, spitting out her body's reaction to extreme stress before exhaling and steeling herself.

She started drawing in the dirt.

The 'X' was where they were. The south western clone stopped around two minutes, travelling at approximately twenty mph. She marked in the distance associated with that information and the four enemies her clone had encountered there.

North western-ish clone had run into the three enemies a bit later, so after a few quick calculations she plotted it on her makeshift map.

North eastern direction was actually the closest - she suspected those four were who they were just running from because they were so much closer than the others. Her clone had lasted longer against them though, so she suspected they were the weakest team. She had set strict limits on the clone's capabilities to taijutsu and bukijutsu for comparison of strengths of the split up squads.

The whole plotting thing didn't take her half a minute and she sat, closing her eyes to _think._

What could she do in this state? Four plus three plus four plus two was thirteen enemies, most of which were definitely ranked higher than genin, maybe even chūnin - she had to imagine what kind of squadron would leave her sensei looking like _that_.

Another detail resurfaced and her eyes snapped open.

They were Kumo-nin.

But why? They were far from Kumo, still a-ways off the front lines which were apparently now somewhere in the Frost country - it was closer to Kumo than it was to Konoha, so why was there such a large squad coming _around_ this way?

Her thoughts rattled through the possibilities in an ordered manner, and through a rapid process of elimination she came to a conclusion within another ten seconds.

Not a negotiation squad. Moving too secretively and much too large a team for a peaceful reach out.

Assassination? No - again, too big of a squad. Judging from Jiraiya's wounds, these people were heavy hitters, not silent killers.

They could potentially be a squad joining the front - the size and type matched, but their location was all wrong. They wouldn't be trying so hard to track down two people they had run into either. This squad had secrecy on its mind as a priority.

So it was a surprise ambush squad on the village. This team had a suicide mission then. A corner of her lip curled upwards in a cold sneer.

Jiraiya had mentioned that the Fire Daimyō was visiting, meaning that Minato would also be in the village... so warding off an attack wouldn't be too difficult, but it would definitely leave an awful impression on their country's leader - Particularly since they had such talented genjutsu users on their team - her eyes scanned her shishou once more - yep. Judging from the spotted bruising around his neck and his completely snapped femur, Jiraiya had been caught in the genjutsu too - he had just escaped it earlier than she did. They probably wanted to disable his orientation and movement before he woke up. Their genjutsu were impressive and would have allowed the front-liners to cause a sufficient amount of damage to the village, which would make the daimyo worried and untrusting of both Minato as a Hokage as well as Konoha's efficiency as a whole.

That would be dangerous. Routine and planning in war were the key to success and keeping up morale in war - if the daimyo had been ruffled and ordered for something to change, it could cause havoc and immense strain on Minato and the leading commanders. It would also increase distrust of Minato as a Hokage within the ranks.

Amaterasu breathed out a puff of air in an effort to calm her shaking body. She'd admit it. It was a great move on Kumo's part, if you ignored that more than a dozen of their ranks would be dead at the end of it.

What could she do? This was a squad meant for the attack on a whole village, there was absolutely no way she would be able to ward them off with her own strength.

Think. Think. _Think._

The squad hadn't expected to run into the two of them, but had set up an intricate web of genjutsu as a trap... so they had sensed them. Hence they must have at least one talented sensor on their team. This was supposed to be a top secret mission after all, so they couldn't run into passer-bys, and having good sensors meant they could avoid them.

Her eyes widened at that in panic but her heartbeat calmed once more as she continued to process information. If the sensor had been able to sense them before Jiraiya or herself could sense the whole squadron then Ama should definitely have been found by now. However, they had split up instead and were looking separately.

So then the sensors were disabled now, for some reason. Jiraiya was the most likely reason.

Ama blinked her eyes slowly, the map in front of her changing as she worked out how much time had passed. She had been deep in thought for about a further minute at best, so the north eastern squadron would probably be around another two minutes away, provided they were still moving at the pace they were a minute ago.

Her eyes only focused on the elderly frog because she was slapping at her face, and her ears opened to what she was trying to tell her.

"Kid, are you alright? Talk to me girl. You hear me? We need to get out of here, okay?"

"We can't move shishou." she murmured distractedly, her mind now flickering through thoughts of counterattacks and distractions. "We can't risk irritating his respiratory system any further."

The frog in front of her shared a frown with her companion.

"Kid, the enemy is still out there. Jiraiya-chan will have to risk it."

"Moving is futile, we'll be too slow and we're surrounded. The risk outweighs the potential gain. Best bet would be creating a distraction that will both distract them but also attract attention. They're not supposed to be here, they're here on a secret mission that relies on its secrecy for its success."

At the blank looks in front of her she scowled.

"It's a surprise ambush on the village, can't you see?"

"Um. Kid, you don't know that. You've been in shock for the last few minutes - "

Ama hissed out a breath through her teeth.

"With all due respect, I _need_ you to trust me." her eyes flickered red and the frogs looked wary. "Is there any backup you can give me?"

"You can't fight anything that put Jiraiya-chan in this state, don't be ridiculous." the male frog snapped and Ama breathed heavily as her mind worked, conjuring and discarding ideas to formulate a plan.

Fine. If they weren't going to listen to her she'd do it herself.

She performed a seal-less replacement jutsu with her shadow clone sitting higher up the tree, watching as it quickly took her place as the medic.

Amaterasu ignored her heartbeat that was fluttering at an alarming pace. She ignored the cold sweat plastering her hair to her forehead. She ignored the shaking of her hands as they slowly rose to tie up her hair in a single ponytail. She ignored everything her instincts were telling her, which was to go back down and listen to the frogs because they were wiser, stronger and probably more informed.

She ignored it all, because her mind was flashing through other images.

 _The labourers that dragged large wagons across to the market every day for that extra bit of cash to feed their families. But it was okay - he knew that at the end of each hard day, he could see his daughter's bright smile and hear his wife's chuckles as they sat to eat dinner... together._

 _The widowed shopkeeper's worn face that waited at night for their ten year old son to return from battle. The smile on their face when he does return, the silence when he doesn't._

 _The farmers that ploughed, planted, watered and harvested on repeat, curving their backs and suffering through the aching pain with an unrivalled cheerfulness. Because despite the difficulty of their day-to-day life, they knew they were working to feed their fellow villagers._

 _The young couple chatting together animatedly, eyes shining and hands squeezed._

 _The little boys and girls running screaming as their school day finished, each with a dream they can call their own._

Because that was life.

What if the labourer came home after a hard day's work to his family, all dead?

What if the young shinobi survives his battles, only to return and see their only parent, dead?

What if the farmer returned to their fields, only to see all their back breaking work had been destroyed?

What if the young couple were no longer chatting, but instead screaming as a shadow leapt after them to kill one of them, forcing the other to watch before finishing the other?

What if... there were no more little boys and girls screaming... but just silence, and a spattering of little bodies?

 _"The shinobi is someone that sacrifices all so that innocent people can live safely"_

This war was her doing. Without her, it would not have happened. She didn't know who had already been affected, or which person's family would be mourning right now because they were killed in this war...this war that didn't have to happen.

And this squadron... her fist clenched. After seeing how they had mauled her sensei, she knew. She knew they would have no mercy on the civilian men, women and children and that they would _slaughter._

Her shaking stilled, and her breathing evened out.

Her mind was clear.

 ** _Think_**.

* * *

 _"No sighting of the girl after the initial strange clone, Jun-taichō."_

Jun gritted his teeth. The Toad Sage was definitely smart - he had killed four of their squad before shooting off for his little companion, but the four he had targeted were the two sensors and two genjutsu specialists. Not too much later the little student had appeared, lasting a grand total of a minute before exploding into smoke. Jun was a taijutsu user - he knew that his hits had definitely connected and that girl had definitely felt the pain.

So why had the other three parts of his squadron encountered the same girl, almost at the same time, and yet none of them had a corpse to show for it?

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

He whipped his head round at the oldest of their squad, who had murmured the technique with a thoughtful nod.

"The leaf use it, Jun-kun. It's a _kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique)_ but there have been multiple reports on the fronts of a strange clone technique. We should take note and spread the information."

The slow, contemplative way he spoke was as annoying as ever and Jun growled.

"I knew that." he hissed, before relaying the information into the intercom. "Just kill her. If we keep destroying them we'll hit the real one eventually."

"False." came the aloof reply from his senior and Jun's arm flexed in irritation.

"She could keep sending her clones you know. Depending on her stamina, we could be picked off one by one or drained of chakra until we're easy pickings." The dratted veteran spoke again.

"False yourself, _ossan_ (old man)." Jun spat. "She didn't look older than ten, how could she drain the thirteen shinobi we have left?"

"Hm, I hear it is a very taxing jutsu. She has already used it four times, and judging from her tactic it was merely to scout our positions. I wouldn't be surprised if she knows where we all are right at this moment."

Jun rolled his eyes.

"You're overestimating. The clone didn't even use any jutsu, just plain taijutsu and stupid weapons tricks. Academy level - she wouldn't be able to think something like that through. It's just an idiotic brat playing ninja."

The other two in their mini squad were watching warily, but both looked slightly skeptical of the older ninja and this boosted Jun's confidence.

Of course a child couldn't do anything to them. They had been hand picked to finish this with a lasting blow to the village itself - it had just been bad luck that they had run into one of the Legendary Sannin of all people.

"Don't forget she was with the Toad Sage." he spoke up quietly. "She is probably his student."

Jun scoffed. She was still a kid, there was no way she -

 _"Jun-taichō! We got her!"_

 _"Jun - tai -"_

 _"The gir - "_

Jun snapped to attention, furiously demanding more information.

 _"She's cornered, we'll keep her here! Our coordinates are - "_

The agonised screams that followed made everyone rip off their ear pieces, hissing in pain.

Confusion and dread washed over them - _what_ could have made them scream like that? Jun's head snapped up at the flume of smoke in the distance.

"Squad 2 and 3 meet back. Squad 1 is compromised." Jun hissed into his intercom, before leaping at the next trunk and shooting off into the direction of the fire.

The eery silence in his group was unnerving.

"Squad 1 was the weak link anyways. She probably jumped them, or she has help. Stay on guard." he told them calmly, though he was slowly feeling fury rise up at that kid. This operation had been stressful enough without them interfering, and now it was all going wrong. He was going to make her pay.

 _"Hello?"_

The group stilled as Jun stopped, hand on his intercom while he scowled at the young female voice.

 _"Would you mind telling me where 'meet back' means? I mean I could track you but that would just be a bit of effort you know?"_

"When I find you," he snarled. "I will skin and gut you while you scream."

There was a pause.

" _Right_." she replied blandly. " _I'm so excited."_

One of his subordinates snorted and Jun sent him a glare so lethal he squeaked.

 _"Taichō. Multiple fires have started throughout the forest."_ someone from Squad 3 reported.

 _"Wow, what a detailed observation! What about 'Taichō, the sky is blue!' or 'Taichō, that's a tree!'?"_ that _god-awful_ voice piped up again. _"I mean... I'm glad to know you guys have eyes and all but man... that's just cute."_

"She's trying to distract us." breathed the veteran with an amused smile on his worn face. "What an intelligent little one."

That was the last straw. Jun whirled on the man, grasping his shirt with one arm before slamming him against the tree.

" _Don't_ compliment her." he growled, just _angry_ at him, the girl, the situation... He was going to _hit_ something.

"Jun. This is a child. There's no need to get so angry, she's trying to rile you up. Don't get outsmarted by her."

Jun punched a tree, making it topple and let out a snarl before shooting off in the direction of the first flames.

He was going to make that girl _scream._

* * *

Amaterasu wanted to scream.

She had just _torched_ four people to death, and royally pissed off their captain. A lot. She threw around kunai with string attached into a complicated web all around the clearing while she thought, fluttering out a few explosive tags as well in preparation. Her shadow clones were currently running outwards in all directions, starting multiple fires within the forest because she wanted to catch anyone's attention because SHE NEEDED HELP. Or at least a DISTRACTION.

Her first tactic had only worked because she had used her unknown identity and surprise to the full. Now they knew she was capable of ninjutsu, they would take more sensible precautions.

She was going to be relying on her seal-less replacement jutsu a lot this time. She had tried it against Jiraiya and it had been very effective, particularly if she used it in tandem with her shadow clones.

...and her final tactic. She sighed before pushing her hands into the sign for the kage bunshin no jutsu once more, and then the transformation jutsu.

"Oh geez do I wish you were really here." she murmured, looking up at the cerulean blue eyes of the Hokage. She transformed multiple kunai into what looked like Minato's three pronged kunai with the seal wrapped around the handles, before going over her idea again and again. She made three more 'Minato' clones then dispersed them to hide their signatures.

She then sat in the middle of her web, and waited.

It didn't take them long to find the charred bodies of their teammates, and shorter still to find her.

There were only four of them however, and she frowned internally. That was the group who had talked to her over the intercom. There was the one that was shaking in rage, probably Jun, one that looked rather old and the other two on the younger side.

Sick. Just sick. Sending young shinobi for a suicide mission. They barely looked like they were in their twenties.

"Where are Squads 2 and 3?" she asked.

She didn't get a reply but the two younger looking ones started to go through hand signs in sync. Her eyes flickered red and she managed to recognise that it was going to be a medium range, Lightning Release ninjutsu.

She flipped back and started up some rapid hand seals of her own, knowing that the best insulator of electricity that was available to her was air.

"Ranton: Reizā Sākasu! (Storm Release: Laser Circus)"

"Fūton: Daitoppa. (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)'"

The streams of lightning shot at her but she blew the chakra enforced wind right back at them, pumping a steady flow of chakra through her core. The lightning receded and Ama flickered through another set of hand seals.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"

The stream of fire pushed her small body backwards, allowing her to narrowly dodge the deadly swipe at her jugular. The fireball raced to the the previous wind jutsu and she felt the stinging heatwave as the resulting combination powered through the forest, incinerating pretty much anything in its wake.

Huh. Sure, she had pushed in that bit extra for luck but she definitely hadn't expected that to be as effective - all her traps had probably been destroyed. There were several _boom_ s as her exploding tags were set off and she winced.

She used the replacement jutsu with a clone sitting behind a particular tree, and flinched at the memories of it being shot down by some sort of black lightning.

Fucking hell she was screwed. What were the other two squads doing? Were they ordered to continue with the mission?! That was _bad._ She needed to get back into contact with -

The next set of memories forced the breath out of her lungs and she wheezed in shock as she tried to process it, eyes widening and toppling her body to the ground.

No. Nonononoononono.

" _ **NO**!"_

* * *

Shisui was delivering some files to the Nara compound (as usual) when he felt a familiar chakra signature rush past towards the Hokage building. He looked up to see several messenger hawks out - which was normal, sure, it was war time so there was always something on... but...

Something didn't feel right.

Trusting your gut came like second nature to a shinobi, and yet Shisui hesitated one more moment before sealing the files away and leaping hastily to the Hokage's office. He burst inside once he felt his shishou's chakra spike in approval, only to find that it was quite full with various jōnin.

"Shisui I didn't call for you, but I'm glad you're here. Come in." Minato said quickly, and it was only then that the young jonin noticed the small frog on his desk.

"Time is short. A few moments ago I was reverse summoned and notified that Jiraiya-sensei was in critical condition."

Shisui's blood ran cold. Jiraiya-sama. _Amaterasu_.

"He is with a student, Amaterasu Uchiha. They were attacked by a squad of Kumo-nin, information suggests there are at least ten but please be thorough. The child is unharmed, but I am now issuing a mission to rescue the two and eliminate the opposition."

The information did nothing to ease his nerves. At least ten enemy ninja? Capable of crippling the Toad Sage?

"There is evidence of fighting against the Kumo-nin already, so be wary of a third party. Remember your goal is to eliminate them." At this point, the Hokage's ice blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't forget that."

"Shikaku will be manning the office while I'm gone."

Wait, his shishou was going to stay here? Did that mean he couldn't go?! Watching him opening his mouth in protest, Minato nodded at him.

"Shisui Uchiha for offence, Tsume Inuzuka and Kazuo Hyūga as trackers, Saburo and Suzuki as the medics."

Minato created a kage bunshin and it disappeared, probably being reverse summoned or something before his Hokage quickly sped through handsigns once again. The outstretched palm glowed blue, and Minato nodded.

"Let's go. Prepare yourselves."

As the offence of the group, Shisui leapt first and with a tap he was forced into the space-time dimension. He felt a dizzying sense of _falling_ before suddenly ground was beneath his feet and his eyes were crimson. He quickly scanned the surroundings before performing a shunshin and snapping one of the Kumo-nin's necks in a swift movement. He jumped at the next one, smoothly dodging a hasty swipe with a katana and kicking it away from his inexperienced hands. The Uchiha then quickly cast a genjutsu over them and slit his throat before searching for a specific chakra.

The Hyuga dashed in front of him and Shisui followed closely behind, keening for his sister before he felt it flicker against his senses. It was much smaller than he remembered. Ama used to have such large reserves, but for some reason they had been depleted.

"Shisui-san we will not make it in time there is - "

Shisui's stomach dropped at the chakra signature that amplified, and at the little one as it stood protectively in front of a collapsed body.

He pumped chakra into his muscles and twisted in a final shunshin.

He saw his sister's face beneath him, eyes wide.

Her mouth opened in a silent scream as a burning _pain_ hit his back and he was launched sideways.

He blacked out as the back of his skull slammed into a tree trunk... so he didn't even feel the katana slide into his abdomen.

* * *

 **Hi my loves! Merry Christmas! I'm based in London and I've timed it so I'm updating at precisely midnight on Christmas Day - just so I can give this present to you beautiful readers!**

 **Although, with that cliffhanger I'm not really sure how much you appreciate it :P (Don't kill me!)**

 **Thank you old readers for sticking this far, thank you new readers for catching up and thank you future readers who are in the middle of catching up as well. Really. You guys are the best.**

 **Thank you to all of you leaving your thoughts - as always I love chatting with you and you will never know how much I appreciate you. You keep me interested, you keep me motivated and you're the reason I improve!**

 **Every single favourite, every single follow - I see you all and it genuinely just makes my day. And it goes without saying that I'm so grateful for you silent readers too! I see you on my traffic graph (in the least creepy way possible) and I love you all (again. Not creepy.) ;)**

 **Finally, I would like to thank Simone, my amazing beta. He read this on Christmas Eve you know. He's a truly committed and super intelligent person that I am really enjoying working with, so you guys better look forward to all the shit flying towards you in the chapters to come!**

 **Happy christmas everyone, I hope you all have a lovely day wherever you are.**

 **Just one favour - please tell someone you truly love that you love them, and if possible give them a huuge hug. Let's all look at the good sides of things, promise?**

 **Much love, and sorry for the continually long AN's**

 **Lei xx**


	15. Fifteen

_"Dr Hawthorn, there was a severe accident on the M4. Four casualties are being helicoptered in as we speak. ETA 4 minutes."_

 _Said doctor halted her steady hands, her slim face steeling into the infamous 'Mask'. Her green eyes focused as her mind flicked through the new information before scanning her mental files of the current staffing of the hospital._

 _"Get Rob in here to finish this off and alert Professor Wren. I don't trust you yet." she said, only slightly apologetic to the first year resident doctor who had been assisting in this surgery. She handed her equipment to her scrub nurse before making her way briskly out of the operating room, simultaneously stripping off her gloves, mask and scrubs with practised ease._

 _She walked quickly across the hospital towards the emergency department, taking the steps two at a time to the roof where the casualties would be landing._

 _"Beds ready?"_

 _"Yes Dr Hawthorn."_

 _"How many teams on standby?"_

 _"Two surgical, one trauma."_

 _"No internal?"_

 _"...They said they'd send one in a few minutes."_

 _She tucked the information away in her mind. If they had sent four by helicopter, they must all be in critical condition._

 _"You said it was a car accident?"_

 _"Yes Dr Hawthorn. A coach hit the car because one of their side mirrors was wonky and they didn't see it coming up."_

 _Fucking hell._

 _"A_ _ **coach**_ _?!"_

 _"...Yes ma'am."_

 _More casualties on the way by road then. They didn't have enough staff._

 _Dr Hawthorn made it up just in time to see the paramedics unload the first casualty off the helicopter and calmly assessed the mauled body in a detached manner._

 _"Let's do this." she mumbled to herself before grabbing some gloves and getting to work._

* * *

 _"Who's next?"_

 _"Dr Hawthorn, you haven't left the hospital for the past forty eight hours. When was the last time you slept?"_

 _"Irrelevant, I'm still functioning. Prepare Theatre 5 and schedule the operation in the next half an hour - it should be free once the orthopaedics finish up."_

 _"Dr Hawthorn, please, you should take a break - "_

 _The striding doctor stopped, turning to face her PA with a placid smile._

 _"Every single one of the patients from today's accident have been either critically or severely injured. Name a qualified doctor who can take this next surgery apart from me."_

 _The poor PA looked flustered, flicking through her iPad and adjusting her glasses clumsily._

 _"There isn't. With Dr Melbourne on maternity leave and Professor Anderson on his sabbatical, we're even shorter on staff than usual." the green-eyed doctor continued briskly. "Although I appreciate your concern, do try and refrain from talking to me about anything unrelated to my patients. I need to focus."_

 _Emily felt the pressure of her mental iron bars squeezing_ _ **in**_ _... until all that was left in her mind was the thoughts of her work._

 _She had lives to save._

* * *

 _The beeps faltered until there was a high pitched drone._

 _It was this sound that had fuelled Emily's nightmares since she graduated med school. The one sound that could make her blood chill and dread pool in her stomach like burning hot melted lead._

 _Her blood covered gloves slowly retracted from the patient's abdomen, forcibly calm and steady. The operating room was silent, six pairs of eyes watching her for instructions._

 _It was only during times like these when Dr Hawthorn truly felt the pressure. She had a measly ten years of experience - six of those had been spent drinking away the stresses of memorising and focusing simply on passing tests. She shouldn't have this much power over someone's life._

 _Emily smothered her inner feelings, clamping over them with her iron cold will before crisply stating,_

 _"Time of death: 3:58 A.M."_

* * *

She gasped for breath and opened her eyes.

She was flying through the air, limp, and somehow just about saw the fist launched at her from the corner of her eyes before it slammed into her ribs, shooting _burning_ hot pain through her body. She wheezed as she felt a few of them give out, her vision going white as she crashed into the ground.

What was going on? Why was she being assaulted? Why did everything hurt? What was she doing?!

Her mind was a crazy flurry of a mess but one thought kept rising up to her consciousness. A certain set of hand signs, a puff of smoke ... She just wanted the pain to stop. She didn't recognise her surroundings anymore. She just wanted some help and for some reason this thought was linked to that -

Black boots landed in her vision and started to walk at a leisurely pace towards her.

Every step vibrated the ground, making her unmoving body jostle, and a fresh wave of pain washed over her.

She was going to die.

That realisation struck something in her mind and she started to move, breath gasping out in _pained_ rasps. The boots stopped moving but it felt like an eternity getting to her knees.

Once she reached that milestone her vision went white once more as a hand wrapped around her throat and her body slammed into the rough bark of what seemed like a tree trunk.

She couldn't breathe.

She didn't know where she was or what was happening but she knew she was about to die.

She was about to get _murdered_.

The thought resurfaced in her mind and _something_ rolled agitatedly in her body. Somehow, subconsciously, she knew what she was doing. The _something_ moved sluggishly and concentrated towards her hands.

They slowly pressed together into certain positions. The positions she saw in that one thought.

She didn't know who she was...but _she_ was going to survive.

Her hand pressed onto the bark.

* * *

 _"_ This place is quite a mess _."_

" **...What are you doing?"**

The girl had no reaction to the deep growl, but kept eyeing the towering red beast crouching behind the tall brass doors of a very large cage. What she had been referring to however were the silvery wisps of _something_ flying around, and the scrolls and books strewn around everywhere - some open, some stacked and some ripped and already fading.

She rolled up her sleeves with a huff before skeptically surveying her surroundings once more.

"Hang on. I'll be with you in a moment."

With that, she began to tidy and sort out everything in this place, starting with the books. They seemed to be information that she had studied before. She knew all of this content, it was familiar to her. After titling each book she ordered them alphabetically for future reference before placing them on a bookshelf she had willed to appear. There were a lot more books than scrolls for sure but the girl found pleasure in systematically flicking through, marking and finding a shelf for them. It gave her a task to focus on and let her block out other thoughts for quite a while.

Once she was done with the books she stepped back and regarded the bookshelf critically, before shifting the sides and the height of it to match how many books were in it. Having a bookshelf that was too empty was never very aesthetic.

Next, she moved to the scrolls. These were clearer and bolder - she had imprinted the characters into her memory, so it was as if she had actually brought the original scrolls into her mind. They took a lot less time to decipher and sort into a comprehensible order, and she placed them on the bottom two shelves of the bookshelf.

The small proportion of books and scrolls that were damaged were carefully tucked away into the corner next to the bookshelf. She didn't want to dispose of them, just in case they were repairable.

Finally, she surveyed the wisps of silvery _stuff_ wafting around and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. She reached out for one and -

 _"Faster, Ama."_

 _Gulps of air were wheezed as the five year old performed suicide runs, except the lengths were the length of the whole forest and if she didn't move fast enough through the points, a strong, speedy barrage of kunai would rain down, making her yelp and dart off again._

 _"C'mon Ama-chan, you're nearly there" came the unhelpfully bright and cheery voice of her brother, hiding up in the trees. The barrage of weapons were his doing, of course._

 _Clenching her jaw in frustration she put on a burst of speed, finishing the suicides twenty minutes faster than her previous record. She then promptly collapsed, gasping and grasping the left side of her stomach._

 _"You can take them off now." said the calm and cool voice of Itachi to her left._

 _These words were a heaven's call to Amaterasu and she groggily flicked out a kunai to cut the bonds of bandages that held the iron weights to her legs and arms._

 _She yelped again when she saw the sharp edge of a kunai shooting at her from the sky, rolling and leaping off the ground before appearing behind a tree to deflect another barrage of weapons._

 _"Shishi-nii-san!" she rasped in indignation as she leapt up into the trees to dodge the onslaught of weapons. She pushed off the trunk and appeared suddenly behind her brother, punching him in the back of the head only for his body to simply puff into smoke._

 _Amaterasu let out a groan of frustration before promptly collapsing._

* * *

The girl blinked rapidly, heart rate quicker and breaths coming faster than before. 'Ah, so that's what they were.' Memories. She coaxed the one she had experienced into a container she had just conjured, bottling it before tucking it away into a chest of drawers. This was going to take more time. Nevertheless, the girl reached for the next one, slightly more prepared as she was dragged into the next memory.

 _"Emily, I can't do this anymore."_

 _Emily locked eyes with her boyfriend of three years, her lips parted in surprise at his sudden interruption. He looked agitated, blue eyes hurt as he ruffled his dark hair. He only did that when he was upset._

 _"What?" she asked before her eyes flickered down to skim the hospital report on her department._

 _"This. I can't do it. Do you even remember what we were supposed to be doing tonight?"_

 _The sheer frustration in his voice made her put down the report, shift her glasses to the top of her head and observe him tiredly._

 _"We were supposed to go to dinner, I know. The hospital's getting inspected by the government this week though, and I need to know what we need to brush up on." she replied, frowning slightly. "We can reschedule dinner but this inspection is a once in three years occasion. I thought you'd understand."_

 _Blue eyes flashed in irritation._

 _"We were supposed to be having dinner with_ _ **my parents**_ _tonight, and we've already rescheduled it_ _ **twice**_ _." he shot back. "So not only did you forget, you're expecting me to be okay with it?"_

 _Emily sighed, rubbing her eyes._

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"Forget it." he snapped, fury evidently not appeased. "Relationships are a two way street Em. That's why your work is great, and why we're not doing well at all. You're not putting any effort into ours."_

 _"We're done." he breathed after a short pause. "Everyone told me this would happen. That you'd put work in front of me. I guess I was the stupid one for believing that wouldn't be the case."_

 _Emily stood up, looking torn._

 _"Mark - "_

" _Forget it. Read your report. Have a nice life."_

A shaking hand drew back from the memory and the girl felt the pain once more, just like she had then. A hand lifted to brush wetness from her cheeks - that must also have been a mental construct. The girl stuffed that memory into another container, her movements slower this time, before sorting it into the vague chronological place it had happened.

This sorting of her memories was the slowest but she let herself relive each one before ordering them. She realised after she had finished that despite her having lived twenty eight years in her past life and only around seven in this one, there was only a small difference in the number of memories she had for each of them. It seemed most of her past memories had faded away and only the major events remaining clear.

It was a good thing she had memories of writing down things she had remembered several years earlier, since she had actually forgotten them now. Things like the details of some of the Naruto characters, like how Kazuku had five hearts, how the Fire Temple monks existed, etc.

Eventually, she was finished. She conjured up a desk and a chair, and placed them opposite the bookshelf and next to the chest of drawers.

She felt strangely exhausted after finishing, but sat at her desk anyways. The reason? She had relived the memory of one of her shadow clones.

She was going to call herself Amaterasu, because that was who her body was. Sure, she had been Emily Hawthorn before but Amaterasu was the one who had inherited the memories of Emily Hawthorn. They were the same person and it was only the confusing concept of different bodies, worlds and names that had jumbled everything up in her mind.

"Foreign object at an angle of approximately thirty degrees to the left directly through the abdomen. Iliac artery. Liver. Intestines." Amaterasu muttered to herself, subconsciously making notes on a piece of paper on with her right hand. What she didn't register as strange was that she was taking out, closing and opening all the books with simple motions of her left hand. Her will seemed to do a lot in here.

There were neat drawings of the anatomy of the abdomen and the girl flicked it out of the page, spinning them to observe the drawing from a 3D perspective.

"Damage to kidneys minimal and unlikely." she decided before evaporating it with a clench of her fist and crossing something off her list. She whirled around on her spinny chair and padded over to the long chest of drawers containing her memories.

She gravitated towards one drawer and eased it open, scanning the labels on the containers before finding the one she wanted. She grabbed and unbottled it before throwing it up and expanding it so the memory played like a movie in a cinema in front of her.

Just as the katana embedded itself into the boy's body, the girl snapped her fingers and it paused. She gestured for her earlier anatomical drawing until it layered on top of the boy's abdomen.

The girl finally paused, chewing her bottom lip in thought. A moment passed and she was back at her table, jotting down detailed notes and removing multiple books from her library at a faster pace than before.

* * *

Kurama observed.

This was not the black haired, black eyed little girl that he knows his host body is. She was also not the brown haired, green eyed, elder woman in this girl's memories, the one who spoke in a language he did not understand.

Instead, this girl was something in the middle, with hazel coloured hair but the same ebony irises that he **detested**. He knew this host body was of... _**Uchiha**_ blood, and it made his teeth gnash and his chakra roll in agitated waves.

It was only until he noticed the disordered wisps of what seemed like the girl's memories waft past his enclosure that he realised this human was very, very strange. He had sat and actively thought for the past couple of years, eagerly reading every memory that drifted into his cage. It seemed as though the girl was packed with so much _stuff_ that her mindscape had gone hectic with information overload until she had come and taken the initiative to order it.

Speaking of which... How _did_ she get in here?

Kurama focused a red slitted eye on the diminutive form of the girl biting the end of the mental construct of a pen. She had remarkable control over this place. Kurama had never heard of a human that had realised how to utilise their mindscapes in this way on the first visit.

The Kyūbi, as much as he detested to admit it, was rather curious. Who was this girl? Who was the green eyed woman? How did she know the things she did? How did she not react when she saw him in his cage? How did she understand that she had complete control over this place?

One of the memories he had managed to snag from the edge of his cage resurfaced in his mind and he rumbled uneasily. It had been of all his siblings attacking him with the intent to kill his blond host.

They had been under a human's control, if the chains were anything to go by, but he had to repress a shudder at the cold, dead looks in their eyes.

It had answered the question of how she had known all his siblings' real names, but he couldn't understand _how_ she knew it.

Was that the future? Was that their fate? What had happened after?

Anger spiked in his frustration, and the chakra monster let his power roll agitatedly for a while before finally relaxing.

He now faced a severe dilemma.

Kurama was _not_ going to initiate a conversation. He had standards. He was not going to lower himself to a human child's level and _start a conversation_ with it. That would imply he was interested in them, which wasn't true at all. He **hated** them. He didn't want to give the brat any strange ideas about how he wanted companionship or other ridiculous, _emotional_ shit. Especially this one... who was related to **him**.

That resolve lasted for a grand total of two minutes before his top lip curled upwards over his rows of sharp, knife-like teeth.

One question wouldn't hurt. No, it wouldn't be a question. He was not going to _inquire,_ he _will_ get his answers. He will _demand_ answers. He scoffed to himself indignantly. He was so above this fleshy being it was almost laughable.

He'd couple it with an insult. Insults were always good - humans don't like insults. Perhaps with a threat too? Scaring it into submission would make information gathering easier.

Right. What insult should he go for - "You miserable clump of cells with no function, do you even know where you are?"

Or, "As soon as I get the opportunity, I will burn you from the inside out."

Yes. That sounded suitable.

Or even perhaps -

"Kurama? You alright?"

Said tailed beast blinked, eyes focusing on the black eyed girl that was currently... on his _**snout.**_

His immediate reaction was to _**snarl**_ at the sheer audacity before snapping his maw at her, but she had already made a swift exit out of the bars. He glared lethally at her, growling low in his throat to make clear his utmost displeasure.

"Sorry, personal space. I get it." she told him, holding both her hands up in the universal 'I surrender' motion. "You just seemed pretty zoned out for a minute."

The tailed beast couldn't form a reply at her calmness and his nine tails thrashed agitatedly behind him. 'W _hy wasn't she scared?'_ He let out another frustrated growl, squeezing against the bars and snapping as fiercely as he could.

She looked way too unfazed for his liking, and it was making him _angry._

" **The one time you let your guard down** ," he said slowly, baring his teeth at her. " **I will rip you open from the inside out**."

The brat _shrugged_ before plopping down and staring up at him curiously with those _godawful black eyes._

"Ok." she agreed simply.

Kurama's rage peaked and his chakra spiked, ballooning up around him until he crashed to the ground, the automatic seals snapping into place and piercing through his limbs like ice cold spears. He snarled, thrashing against the restraints for a while before stilling, red slitted eyes glinting pure hatred as his stare bore into the small girl's form.

"I guess you've noticed my memories can leak into your cell." the girl began thoughtfully. "I wonder which ones you've seen."

She closed her eyes, leaning back on her hands.

"Sorry about that." she sighed. "The mess must have been annoying."

"My current body's name is Amaterasu Uchiha, but I was Emily Hawthorn before... or at least, I thought I was. Basically, I have her memories and I've had them since I first came into this world." she continued.

" **Shut up.** "

"I know a lot about this world." she said, ignoring his interjection but locking eyes with the beast calmly. "It'd be easier for you to just see them but I don't know if you can read my memories like I can."

She raised her eyebrows at him questioningly but Kurama just yawned, making sure that he displayed all his teeth for a good five seconds before staring at her through half-lidded, seemingly bored, disinterested eyes.

At his silence, she blew out a fast breath.

"I'll leave the ones I think you'd like out anyways." she said, getting up and shuffling to her drawers. After coaxing several memories out and wafting them into the cage, she looked up at him thoughtfully once more. He stared back coldly, suppressing his satisfaction at the bits of information that were now in his grasp.

"I'm not going to apologise that you're in this predicament, because it's not my fault." she suddenly said sharply. "But I think this world has a lot of things wrong with it and this - " she gestured to the cage. "is one of them."

The girl sighed, biting her lip in thought.

"Just watch the memories." she said tiredly, before fading away.

Kurama paused for another few seconds to make sure she had gone before suppressing his chakra to a level in which the chakra suppressing poles would disappear. He then eyed the wafting pieces before tapping one with a sharp claw.

Stupid girl.

* * *

Amaterasu opened her eyes.

...and promptly shut them again, not wanting to face the conscious world at this moment. Although she didn't really want to go back into her newly discovered unconscious mind either. She wouldn't have any more mind cleaning to do to avoid talking to the Bijū in there.

With a small sigh she acknowledged her suddenly growling stomach and opened her eyes once more. The twitching brown nose and whiskers were still there.

"What is this life?" she croaked, shifting to rub her eyes and blink several more times to try and clear her vision.

And blinked.

And blinked once more.

There was a freaking oversized cat-like thing on her. Ok sure, it was warm and fluffy but it was also blinking its slitted pale green eyes at her and for heavens' sakes, couldn't she just get two minutes of _nothing_ please?

 _"I am not a cat."_

...

Fucking hell, she may as well just accept it now.

There was an oversized not-cat-but-looks-startlingly-similar-to-a-cat sprawled on top of her... that apparently could speak to her telepathically.

Because why the fuck not.

"What are you then?" she grumbled, glaring at it like she would an annoying fly.

It sniffed.

 _"Your protector, of course_." it told her condescendingly. " _Don't worry, the toads will never get to one of ours."_

"Huh." Ama hummed. "Thanks I guess."

That didn't sound too bad.

Wait.

"Toads?!" she choked, leaping up and promptly clutching her head as black spots danced about in her vision. The animal paused until she calmed herself, almost tutting before nudging a bowl of water at her. It was then that it dawned on her that she was lying on the floor of some kind of cave, with some bits of moss and heather protecting her from the hard rock. She slowly lifted the bowl to her lips and drank quickly once she realised how thirsty she was.

" _Typical human."_ the warm-brown furred creature sighed, giving her a patient look. _"So impulsive."_

"Wait, how long have I been out? I need to let Minato know - oh god, how is Shisui?! Did they manage to stop the other team?!"

Ama barely noticed the animal huffing, gold eyes rolling in a rather exasperated manner as it settled down onto its front paws.

How much time had passed? Was Shisui okay? Why, no, _how_ had he been there?! What about Jiraiya?! Did Shisui have medics with him?

Oh lord. What if it had been another genjutsu? What if there were more of the Kumo troops?!

Amaterasu leapt up, breath catching in her throat as her pulse quickened, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

How far was she from - wait no. _Where_ was she... oh god. Her eyes flicked to the feline draped across the floor of the cave - it was watching her, eery gold eyes bored.

Amaterasu almost slapped herself in the face. She had used the summoning jutsu.

 _Without a contract._

The next series of thoughts she had was _very_ rude and in a mixture of English and Japanese, but the feline wrinkled its nose and bared its teeth in displeasure anyways. That definitely confirmed another, very disturbing speculation.

It could read her mind.

For some reason, her thought immediately flashed to Kurama. Didn't he occupy her mindspace too? Why was he being so quiet?

The following thought process led her to conclude that no, Kurama must not be sharing her mindspace. It would make more sense that he was based in the seal - did that mean where she had just been (the place she had thought to be her 'mindscape') had actually been in the seal?!

At this point, it seemed her four legged companion had had quite enough and stood up silently.

 _"I will take you to feed and then you will speak to the elders_." he told her gently.

All Amaterasu could do was nod. She was a mess.

* * *

"You are quite a mess."

Amaterasu stared at the semicircle of felines, who were in turn watching her.

Their eery pale, slitted eyes were strangely calming. The one who spoke was in the middle of the five, and was the only one with green irises.

"I am the only one of us five that has mastered the human speech, so I will be your translator for the rest of us." he intoned, and Ama started. How did that even work? His mouth shape was definitely not suited for the sounds required for Japanese -

Whatever. She wasn't going to get into that.

"But of course, you can communicate with Kin."

She frowned. Was that -

" _That's me."_

Ah. Amaterasu gave a weak smile at the golden feline to her right.

"Do you not have anything to say before we begin the initiation, child?"

Initiation?! Was she joining some sort of cult? How long would it take? God, when was she going to get home?

"You are all being very... hospitable." she started slowly. "And while I am very grateful for that, it seems as though you were expecting me."

There was a rumble of purrs and wheezes and it took Amaterasu a good five seconds to realise that they were laughing at her.

"Of course we were expecting you, child. You're Nanabi's cub."

Amaterasu's frown did not leave her face.

"I apologise." she stated quietly. "But I believe you are mistaken."

The air seemed to drop twenty degrees at that statement, and dread pooled in her stomach. Shit. They thought she was someone else.

"I never knew them, but I was told my parents were Aiko and Kagami Uchiha."

"Uchiha?" questioned the green eyed feline out loud.

 _"Uchiha?"_ echoed Kin.

The Japanese speaking one narrowed his eyes.

"Is that not all the way where the broad branched trees lie?"

Amaterasu winced.

"Yes. We currently reside in Konohagakure no Sato... in the Fire Country." she added as an afterthought. How far was she?!

There was silence for a good two minutes or so, and she realised they were all communicating telepathically. Kin's stare had switched from kind to wary, and she tried to stop thinking.

"Kin has told me your mental image is very much like the clan we usually work with. Your shade of hair and black eyes is an unusual combination you see, but now that we really look at you…you're not one of them."

Amaterasu shook her head.

"No. I was in a very tight spot." she said honestly. "And I was desperate for a way out, so I used the Kuchiyose no jutsu... without a contract."

There was more silence following that in which she assumed they talked over this new information. There was a tense moment in which the feline lying furthest to the right hissed in fury, but was quickly submissive when green eyes flicked over to its unhappy form.

"It then means that you have been matched to us by the highers."

...Amaterasu had no idea who the highers were but she nodded slowly anyways. When could she go home?

"I promise I won't use the jutsu again." she began, anxiety causing her voice to wobble. "I just _really_ need to get back home right now."

There was another silence, and she ended up fidgeting. She was beyond stressed right now. She hated _not knowing._

"You are agitated."

Amaterasu was very, very close to bursting out in hysteric laughter.

"Yes." she agreed simply. "I am very agitated."

They all tilted their heads in sync in a silent question, which the one in the middle voiced in a rather deadpan, "Why?". There was a very short pause in which she hesitated.

'Fuck it all' she decided. She had gone through hell in the past however many hours, she deserved a breakdown.

"I almost died." she blurted. "For all I know, my shishō and brother are dead."

She continued, breaths coming faster now she was starting to let it all out.

"I have a lapse in my memories. I wake up and everything hurts, some people were trying to kill me and I just - I had no idea what to do but I remembered this jutsu for some reason." she rambled. "I wake up again and I'm here. There's a scary massive cat here that can read my mind and now you've all just gone and said that I'm not the person you expected and now you don't know what to do with me and all I want to do is just _go home._ "

The green-eyed feline opened his mouth but she cut in before he could voice anything.

"Judging from what you've said you're a summoning group that's had a contract with a clan or a family, probably the main household or main family line or whatever, and they're most definitely not a clan from Konoha. On the contrary, somewhere very _very_ far - which means, if you do let me go home, which I'm also not very sure if you will, it's going to take ages and _oh sweet_ _kami_ we're at war." she took a deep breath, eyes widening. "Holy crap. Your clan... they're not from Kumo, are they?!"

Her blood felt like ice in her veins at their blank stares.

"If you would let me interject for just a second, I will fill you in on your information gaps."

The feline's voice felt velvety and calm, and for some reason she felt more relaxed than she had before.

"We are not cats."

Amaterasu had no idea how to react to that. All of her rant and that was evidently the main thing they had picked up on. She was so fucking close to done it wasn't even funny.

 _"I have already told you that we are not cats."_

'Would you kindly fuck off.' she snapped at him mentally, shooting him a glare and he stood up, bristling with a hiss.

"Kin, compose yourself. Remember your teachings." the elder said sternly. "The short ones are particularly impulsive and rude, especially when agitated."

There was a grumble, but Kin lay back down anyways.

"What is your name, Uchiha?"

"Amaterasu."

There was a hum among the other four felines.

"That is a strong name. I approve. The Uchiha will make good partners for however long they last." Amaterasu blinked.

"I beg your pardon?" She was ignored.

"We are the lynxes. We are a summoning clan with a speciality in the human mind, and we understand that you being here means our previous partners have perished. Your connection with Kin is unmistakeable, which leads us to believe that you are destined to be partners. Your presence is not a coincidence." he said gravely. "If you choose to accept the contract, we have a request that you must fulfil before we truly accept you as our own."

Amaterasu surveyed the felines carefully. They all seemed calm and watched her indifferently, apart from the one furthest to the right - that one's eyes were flashing in what seemed like anger.

 _"Kohaku-san was Nebuki-sama's partner. It is expected that she is upset."_

Ama gave a nod. That was understandable.

"Can I ask what the request is?" she asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but I would really like to know how my brother and shishō is."

She had put in extra effort to sound polite and after catching sight of sharp, long claws as one of them flexed their paw... she suddenly felt rather lucky they had been tolerant of her so far.

"Is that all you wish to know?"

Ama paused, staring into the startlingly green orbs skeptically.

"To be more precise, I want to know the medical statuses and have progress reports of Shisui Uchiha and Jiraiya. I suspect they will be at Konoha hospital, unless..." she swallowed, but shook her head to get rid of that thought track. "I also want to know how long it's been since the day we were attacked." There was another silence, before the main elder nodded.

"Very well. We shall obtain the information by noon tomorrow. Kin shall fill you in on your mission, and start you on some training. Good luck, Amaterasu Uchiha."

Wait, what?

 _"That's our cue to leave."_

There was a jerk at the back of her collar and it only took her a moment to realise the stupid cat was carrying her away by what would have been the cuff of her neck.

Why did it feel like the universe was laughing at her?

* * *

"Na na, ojii."

"Yes Naruto-chan?"

"Fish!"

"Yes, Naruto-kun. We did catch a fish."

"To dada?"

"You want to take it to your father?"

At the vicious nod Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled, looking down from the Hokage Rock to the Academy building where his successor was stationed with a forlorn expression.

"I'm not sure your father wants fish at this very moment, Naruto-chan."

There was a silence and when the elderly shinobi looked over at the child, he looked strangely distant.

"Dada isn't happy." he said quietly, and Hiruzen sighed. He was mulling over what to say next to the child when he piped up with a brighter tone.

"Dada wants cat instead?"

Hiruzen laughed.

"No, Naruto-chan. I'm not sure if he wants a cat either."

"But what if it's a really really big cat?"

Hiruzen's smile faded at the strange wording, slowly turning his head towards Naruto. With one scoop he grabbed the child and jumped backwards, whipping out a kunai from under his robe.

He didn't know how he hadn't sensed it before but there was currently an oversized wild cat with very noticeable green eyes prowling towards them on the crest of the monument.

"Shisui Uchiha?"

Hiruzen paused, eyes narrowed. The cat could speak however, just before he could ask who its summoner was, the blond kid in his arms piped up with a very loud, "Eh? Ojii, why big cat ask for Shishi-nii?"

"Who is your summoner?" the previous Hokage demanded anyways.

The cat looked irked by the child's statement.

"So you are not him." he sighed. "I do believe chakra senses become worse over time. I used to be quite the tracker in my day. I'm sure you can relate." he added, eyes flicking to him, and Hiruzen wasn't sure whether he should be offended. His wariness spiked however. He didn't know of anyone in Konoha with a summoning contract for this kind of animal.

"Who is your summoner?" he repeated coldly.

"I am looking for Shisui Uchiha and another that goes by the name of Jiraiya."

The ex-Hokage's eyes widened.

"I come on the request of Amaterasu Uchiha."

* * *

 **TRIVIA**

 **The Academy complex, which is located at the base of the Hokage Rock, not only houses the classrooms where the perspective shinobi are trained in but also the Mission Assignment Desk, where normal missions are usually dispensed to shinobi, the Jōnin Standby Station, which is located elsewhere in the compound, and the Hokage's office, which is where high profile missions are dispatched and the day-to-day running of the village takes place.**

 **This means that the "Hokage Tower" does not exist per se, but occupies in fact the highest floor of the Academy building.**

 **VOCABULARY**

 **Konohagakure no Sato** : ( 木ノ葉隠れの里, Village Hidden by the Tree Leaves )

 **Hi no Kuni** : ( 火の国, Land of Fire )

 **Kuchiyose no Jutsu** : ( 口寄せの術, Summoning Technique )

 **Kyūbi** : ( 九尾, Nine-Tails )

 **Bijū** : ( 尾獣, Tailed Beasts )

^Guys that was all Simone's doing - read a review suggesting this format rather than the one before - whatcha think? THANKS SIMONE!

 **Ugh. Ugh ughughguhguhewGah.**

 **I'm beyond sorry for the wait. This chapter was really difficult to write, and I'm not 100% sure if I'm happy with it. Let me know what you all think and we can go from there - nothing I write is ever concrete anyways!**

 **Speaking of which, I may end up tweaking some of the beginning bits but I'll let you know when I do so you can have a read. There were some great reviews on the last chapter, thank you all very much.**

 **Just a quick note about why she didn't unlock her Mangekyo/go wild with the Kyubi - she is emotionally not stable enough for yet another level with the Sharingan. She would literally go mental.** **Also, she wasn't just feeling pure pain at her brother being stabbed, she was already feeling a mixture of what the fuck is going on, I'm so confused, why is he suddenly here, how am I going to survive, so her** **mind was like ah shit oh dear and went into a weird ass flashback as her mind split and went all over the place - she probably won't be able to use the shadow clone jutsu nearly as much because she just has so much information in her head.**

 **And with the Kyubi, she's been in the village with both Minato and Jiraiya looking at the seal whether she's awake/asleep - it's not that simple. Seeing her brother get stabbed by a katana, she went more for shit fuck there's another thing that's gone wrong, what can I do to help rather than I'm going to KO all these bitches.**

 **That's my explanation on why she went into a mental lockdown. She just couldn't deal with everything that had happened, and just needed time out.**

 **...Of course, things were never going to be that simple for her with me as the author heehee.**

 **Love you all as always - next update will come faster I promise!** **Things getting more and more interesting!**

 **Lei xx**

 **PS - Sorry, lynx typo fixed!**


	16. Sixteen

" _I can hear your breathing."_

"You can hear everything. Your ears are the size of your HEAD."

"I didn't know you wanted to stay here that much, Amaterasu. Keep talking and we will happily extend your training period, seeing how much you seem to need it."

Amaterasu bit her lip to stop her retort to the frank elder lounging on an overhead branch, before coating her feet with a thin sliver of chakra and masking her breaths by focusing her chakra flow on the insides of her mouth and nose.

It felt weird. She was never going to get used to it but apparently it worked, and as long as it meant she could go home she woul-

" _Focus._ "

Amaterasu angrily forced up the mental blocks that had lowered during her rant. The mental stuff she could do, it was just all this moving _silently_ stuff that just made her so _frustrated._ She was being used as bai-

"Go."

She shot off into the forest, ducking and dodging with the sharingan spinning in her eyes. She had started off well, weaving through the foliage smoothly and jumping soundlessly from branch to rock to branch - She definitely had to avoid that particularly damp part of the ground - it would definitely leave a footprint no matter how much chakra she used - aaand that was vanilla grass and she _definitely_ wasn't going to step on that, she'd be carrying that scent for days - argh shit she just nudged that piece of bark.

She was fucked. They were going to get her and oooh dear, this was going to hurt. She could hear them now. Oh lord hel-

"OOMPH"

" _Yay_ _yay yay!"_

" _We got her!"_

" _Hah!"_

" _Take that human!"_

" _Loooseerrr"_

Amaterasu groaned under the weight of the two year old cubs, spitting out a piece of fluff and breathing hard. Okay, it was a five hundred meter sprint but it was through an uphill forest so she had a right to be tired.

"Nnghh get off you stinky cats." she hissed grumpily, shoving them off before they realized what she had said. Their bubbly chatter was filling up her head and it was giving her a headache. She looked up at the pink sky, her breathing slowing down as the cubs joined her on the floor, cuddling up on her stomach and by her side.

" _Good job puppies_." she murmured mentally and six pairs of eyes popped up to stare accusingly at her until she corrected herself. She couldn't help but smirk amusedly at their antics.

"You have a long way to go." came the low rumble of Aoi, the elder who had supervised most of her training for the past year. She had had lessons with a few of the others, and _everything she did_ had been with Kin, but one who had her respect was Aoi.

He had taught her a lot. It was beyond simple information, beyond the facts he knew about shinobi tactics or even the strange depth of psychological understanding he had about humans. His calm and collected way of viewing human life and existence in general really struck a chord in her and made her think. There was a brief flickering at the corner of her mind and she closed her eyes, hands slipping into a simple tiger sign to aid her concentration.

The phasing between physical and mental worlds had become almost easy for Amaterasu, having done it multiple times a day over the year. It wasn't actually her mindscape or even in the seal. It was a separate, secluded 'processing' section of her brain that was usually not tapped into by humans. It was an activation of the unconscious mind that apparently could only happen in the presence of high concentrations of natural energy.

Like most, if not all summons, the lynxes harnessed natural energy and mixed it with their their spiritual and physical energies, their _Inton (Yin Release)_ and _Yōton (Yang Release)_. However, unlike the majority of summoned animals, the lynxes were specialists of Yin Release and were capable of mixing natural energy with it exclusively.

Yin Release is closely tied with imagination and the techniques that employ it create "form out of nothingness". The Nara and Yamanaka clans are famous for their own takes on utilising Yin release in their own ways: the Kagemane and the Shintenshin respectively. The bunshin taught at the Academy is also a Yin Release ninjutsu, with it having a definite form but no consistence. Some consider genjutsu, which uses exclusively Yin Release, to be simply a branch of ninjutsu with a different application.

When mixed with senjutsu however, Yin Release acquired several peculiar properties. When used offensively it acted similarly to normal ninjutsu, an example of which being Madara's _Senpō: Inton Raiha (Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Dispatch)_ but when directed at the user's mind itself…

The area she viewed around her was startlingly similar to a lucid dream. She had control over this place, and although it took her some time to exert it to the same degree as when she first accessed this part of her mind, Aoi and Kin's training methods meant she was becoming adept at making it hers.

Apparently, when she had described what had happened in her mind the first time she reverse summoned herself, they had definitely been puzzled. Aoi had expressed concern over using it incorrectly but Ama didn't remember consciously trying to access it. It just happened.

They had come to the conclusion that the extra memories she had must have tampered with the Yin side of her chakra, making it easier to link with the high density of natural chakra in the summoning world.

Yes. Amaterasu had told them, or rather, shown them the memories she had of another world. Instead of panicking and reacting badly like she thought he would, Aoi-sama had responded like she would've if there was evidence of a new disease.

The lynxes were academics. When Aoi had said they specialised in the human mind, they really meant it. When he had first been told about her strange memories, he sat himself down, listened, and mulled over it for a good few weeks before coming up with a response.

"It's not your fault." he said slowly. "You didn't tamper with something you shouldn't have. You didn't do anything wrong and yet you were born with memories from someone else. You're going to have to decide who you want to be - Emily Hawthorn, who has been reborn into a world she thought was only fantasy, or Amaterasu Uchiha, who was born with Emily Hawthorn's memories sharing her mental space. It's fascinating to try and hypothesize why this happened, why it happened to you, and if it'll ever happen again... or if it's happened before."

Amaterasu couldn't describe the _relief_ she felt when Aoi-sama sat her down and talked to her about it. She felt like she understood it more, she _accepted_ it, as if it wasn't some sort of great secret any longer. It wasn't her fault, so she had no need to go around feeling like she was doing something wrong and hiding things from people. The way she had described it to Jiraiya and Minato, that it was some sort of weird knowledge that had activated from the Sharingan - that could've been the wrong way to go about it.

Aoi had argued that perhaps it would've been better to have told the humans the truth, but had she tried to explain the whole memories thing, humans would have been scared simply because they knew nothing about it. They are, by nature, worried about the unknown because they can't predict whether it would harm them in the end, and shinobi are more paranoid than most. Ama was glad that Aoi had agreed to keep her initial story going for the humans.

Everyone's subconscious is a lot larger than their conscious mind. Conscious minds forget things, but the subconscious doesn't. Amaterasu remembered how in Emily's world the scientists had been doing research to tap into this part of the mind. It was fascinating. That person who had been a large part of your dream last night, the one you don't remember ever having seen before? He could have been someone you walked past on the street, or the cashier at the grocer's, or someone you brushed past on the tube. The mind _can't_ conjure up new faces but it definitely can reuse the ones it's seen before. You just don't remember them consciously, but you have definitely seen that person before, because your subconscious mind doesn't forget.

'Linking' the energy of the environment with her own spiritual energy gave her access to that part of the mind, and the stronger the link, the deeper she could go and the more she could access. It wasn't actually senjutsu because there was no absorption and moulding of the two energies involved, it just had to do with the mind.

Yeah. It was as difficult to understand as it was to put into words. The very concept had been difficult to grasp, but she was slowly getting there with the instruction of the lynxes.

With this, Amaterasu drew a line and went more with feeling than actual understanding, because that was how she did it the first time. She threw all logic and 'how can this happen' s out the theoretical window and just _felt_ and _willed._

She had originally organized everything into books, bookshelves and drawers. Originally, it had been all in a single room.

"'Make it big. There is no limit to the imagination, so there is no limit for the size of your mental space." Kin had suggested, and so she did. She pictured the inside of a large department store. The different floors, or 'layers', were for different processes, different memories, different thoughts. She grouped some chronologically, others by topic and some alphabetically. Whatever worked for her, worked here.

Kin sat in the layer for 'Active Processing', looking around curiously like he always did. It had something to do with all the machines, she guessed. She still had memories of computers and thus had eventually upgraded the original books, scrolls and bookshelves into machinery, like tablets and holographic screens. The machines definitely did not work like actual machines in the sense that their processing was the processing done by her brain, but the setup helped her organize her thoughts in a way that was more easily accessible than the mental library from before. The layer for 'Active Processing' was the smallest, as while the subconscious could process things, it did so at a much slower rate than the conscious mind.

As she walked towards her partner, she mentally nudged Kurama who was sitting on _his_ layer, probably shifting through the next set of her memories from the series. There was no cage _visible_ on that floor even though it obviously it existed in real life, but that didn't matter here. Everything in this space was Amaterasu's mental construct and Kurama's consciousness was a part of it because he was linked to her through the seal. She knew that he appreciated 'feeling' a bit less confined, despite his grumblings about how it was a lie and he was actually more of a prisoner here and blah blah blah.

Kin could access it as he had been the one who helped her build it in the first place. As her designated partner, he knew Amaterasu and her mental capacity better than anyone.

"You have too much going on." Kin told her quietly, eyeing the multiple screens that were moving around the place. They weren't actually doing anything. It was just her mental representation of what was being processed in her subconscious.

"This floor shouldn't be this active. You'll tire yourself out."

This new skill of sorts helped Amaterasu's own mind sort itself out. The conscious part of her mind had already overloaded three times, what with all the information from the last life, all the things happening in this one as well as everything that may or may not come to pass one day. Leaving her subconscious mind to deal with parts of it freed her own mental space quite a bit, and she was overall feeling much better. She was essentially unloading her worries onto a different part of her.

Too much of this however, Kin had warned, could lead to the merging of the subconscious and conscious mind, which would destroy the balance of the brain and basically render her brain dead. He had also rattled off many other dangers but Amaterasu knew he would keep her from getting anywhere near that state. He was a worrywart in the purest form.

Whoever had matched her with the lynxes had been a fucking godsend.

"That part is the homework Aoi-sama gave me on the concept of human pride, that one's for working out counterattacks for someone who's immortal and that one over there's to try and deduce things about the Zetsus." Amaterasu explained while lying down next to Kin and taking out a 'tablet' from a cupboard.

"You can't do three at once already, Ama. Stop the one on the Zetsus. That one's been going on for a month now." Kin ordered and despite his brisk tone, she knew it was for her own good. She beckoned that part of the machinery over and peered over the different thought processes.

Using multiple thoughts and memories to prove her points, she had basically come to the conclusion that to find Zetsu, you had to find Obito first. There was also a chance that Minato may have put a seal on him, so the next problem was how to ask Minato about it, and she had planned several ways of doing that, as well as their pros and cons.

Huh, that was farther than she thought she would get with that. She'd read through it properly later but it was certainly good progress.

Amaterasu 'shut down' the computer (not before 'saving' all of it) and removed the hard drive. She walked over to the drawers and labeled a new one 'Zetsu', right under Madara's and above Obito's, and placed it inside before returning to Kin. The disappearance of that computer eased a slight pressure off the left side of her head.

Kin was right as always, and right now he looked amused.

"Will you be the one to come if I use the Kuchiyose no jutsu away from here?" Amaterasu asked. It was almost time for her to go back after all.

"That depends on how much chakra you use. You'll have to practice for a bit before you know how much you need for a certain one of us." he replied. Amaterasu scratched the top of his head while she thought, humming.

"I wonder how everyone's doing at home." she murmured.

"Shisui and Jiraiya are well. You read their reports and the hospital dispatch forms." Kin rumbled.

"But there are so many other people. Oh god, I hope Minato's alright. He has a lot going on. Plus, just because Jiraiya and Shisui are well _physically_ doesn't mean they're okay mentally… oh, and Itachi... he'll probably have some weird, hidden form of PTSD that I'll have to deal with." she mumbled, and her surroundings began to rattle as the beginnings of stress, verging on panic, settled into her brain. Kin gave her a warning glare and Amaterasu felt a strong force of sorts stabilize her structure.

"Compartmentalize. Calm yourself. Sort through it, slowly." Kin spoke slowly, his voice soothing. Amaterasu had heard this many times and it always helped enormously. She closed her eyes and took a few moments to calm herself, before moving her thoughts onto something else.

"I'm glad the war's stopped though. I'll have to ask about that when I get home but it felt quite sudden." Amaterasu hummed. There was a gentle nudge from above and she suppressed a smile. Kurama was really a big softie. "I'm good Kurama!" she called and received an indignant growl back.

Kin rolled his eyes.

It sounded bad but despite the years that Kurama had on Kin and the lynxes, the distrust and mistreating the Bijū suffered had been too large for him to mature as much as one would expect. Kin was definitely more mature than the chakra beast, at least mentally, and that had been very entertaining for Amaterasu.

"So I have a week left until they can have me back, right?" Ama sighed.

"And I will be with you for at least the first month. You need to adjust to lower levels of natural energy, and find somewhere where you can meditate at least once a week."

Amaterasu nodded. She knew that.

There was a flash of something on the opposite side of the 'department store' and her brows furrowed.

"That's my physical side, right? Like… my sensory side? Why is it flashing?" she wondered. Kin nipped at her shoulder, but she didn't _feel_ it. Nor did the physical layer flash from that movement. Her mental and physical beings were disconnected after all.

"Think." he suggested.

"If there's activity from that side of my brain, then someone's stimulating my sensory receptors. If there's flashing then… is someone hurting me?"

Kin simply stared at her with his pale amber eyes. She groaned before sitting up and closing her eyes. Of course. She had to work it out herself.

The next time she opened her eyes she took in a deep breath, not used to actively _feeling_ the fresh air entering her lungs for a while, and she coughed a bit, squinting her eyes against the midday sun.

"It was you." she accused, staring balefully at one of the cubs gnawing on her foot. It didn't really hurt, but it was hardly comfortable. She tapped the curious cub on the nose before shooing him away. Instead of trotting off however, he grabbed the bottom of her trousers and tugged gently, piercing the material with small, but extremely sharp teeth.

Amaterasu sighed. The cubs couldn't speak telepathically until they were at least five, so she had had to do a lot of guesswork to see what they wanted. It was like babysitting, but harder. The cubs were intelligent, and had the capacity to be very sly if they wanted something. Their fluffy faces couldn't fool her any more.

Kin walked into the clearing, the beginnings of a warning growl deep in his throat. The cub let go of her trousers, squeaked, blinking his large pale eyes innocently before trotting off.

" _You're too nice."_

Amaterasu chuckled before leaning on him as he settled down and they watched the setting sun, both calm and thoughtful.

"I'm eight now." she said slowly. "Naruto's five. I have around ten years before Akatsuki makes a move, according to my memories, but I would guess it'll be earlier. My taijutsu is alright, my physical strength is next to nothing and my tactics still need some work. I haven't advanced in ninjutsu in the past year because I was with you. When I get back I need to train with the Uchiha for at least a year."

" _You_ are _weak."_ Kin agreed helpfully.

"Perhaps two years then." she murmured. "If there's even a chance that someone like Kaguya turns up... being strong won't be enough. Even Kakashi was a hindrance then. I need to make sure Naruto and Sasuke are prepared, and I need Itachi to be on our side."

" _Think about now. You do not know how accurate your information is."_

"Okay." she said quietly. "I'm capable of a lot, Kin. With my knowledge and lineage, I have the capacity to be on their level."

The familiar flames of competition licked up her gut.

"I won't let them lose because of me." she promised, eyes gleaming.

* * *

A lot could happen in a year.

A lot _had_ happened in a year.

The fourteen year old boy watched as the younger Uchiha concentrated, coal black eyes sharp and hand steady over the gash he had received during training. The shivery feeling from the green chakra receded and Shisui nodded, impressed at the increase in speed. He flexed his arm, the familiar tightness after a healing session minimal.

"Good job, 'Tachi." he murmured before stretching as he got up and started to pick up their strewn weaponry. Said other Uchiha nodded his thanks before helping, and the clearing was empty within the next minute.

Well, who would have thought the kid would turn out to be a medic? Of course, the clan couldn't have refused the training offer from one of the freaking Sannin of all people, but they put their foot down on Itachi being anything less than a _combat_ medic. He was going to be a damned good one either way.

" _Nii-san, are you sure I can't practice my new first aid skills? I'll make it all better, I swear!"_

Shisui's lips shifted very slightly upwards at the high tinkling voice in his head, and his heart tugged.

He missed her.

"Tell me again how you got Tsunade-sama to one, return to the village, and two, make her _teach_ you." he asked to distract himself from those thoughts.

He almost felt the baleful dark eyes narrow on his back as he began the walk to the Uchiha district.

"I have told you many times." came the vaguely exasperated tone.

"Mmmh. It's a golden story." he prompted with a side glance, making Itachi roll his eyes.

"She intruded in an ambush mission. I was intrigued, asked to pursue and was granted permission to do so. We had a chat over a few... drinks, which she offered. I wasn't going to say no." the younger Uchiha said slightly crossly at the scrutinizing stare of the orphan beside him.

"Right." Shisui drawled thoughtfully, before ducking under a half hearted swipe. Itachi was incredibly embarrassed by the story, and it amused the elder Uchiha to no end. The poor boy didn't think he had done anything particularly admirable, but the village was pretty much in awe that a nine year old had achieved what the Sandaime Hokage couldn't.

Mainly - bringing back one of the Legendary Sannin.

"But what did you _say_ to her?" Shisui continued to muse thoughtfully, and at this the baby medic stiffened very slightly.

"Do you have a mission this week?" Itachi asked quickly, and the shunshin enthusiast's lips quirked upwards curiously at the fast subject change.

Before he could press the matter further, Shisui's eye flickered upwards to hawk circling overhead after catching sight of its shadow.

"I didn't." he replied blandly, but Itachi simply nodded in farewell before his elder disappeared.

He understood.

The former Uchiha clan heir continued back to the Uchiha district alone, a memory shimmering through his thoughts from the conversation.

* * *

" _Itachi."_

 _Said boy glanced up from his scroll to the smaller Uchiha sprawled next to him on the floor of his bedroom, also holding a book of some sort._

" _What do you want to be when you're older?"_

 _He stared at her._

" _You know, like aspirations? What are your goals? Why are you training?"_

 _He paused. He hadn't really thought about it, but the obvious answer was going to be,_

" _A good shinobi." he uttered simply._

 _He knew this was not going to be a sufficient answer for Amaterasu however. She always had a strange desire to get him to open up about, well, everything. Sure enough, she looked up at him expectantly and he slowly rolled up his scroll, slightly exasperated. He probably wasn't going to get any more reading done._

" _I want... to protect my family."_

 _Even he knew that was a bit of a feeble attempt at being honest and he internally cringed._

" _Meh. Even if you don't become a good shinobi, the village has plenty of security systems and shinobi that'll look after your family. Shisui-nii-chan and I will look after you guys. It doesn't_ have _to be you...not to mention your mum is pretty badass._ "

 _That was true. She knew what he meant though. Of course he had to be a shinobi, he was an_ Uchiha _for crying out loud, and so was she. What was she trying to get at? He frowned at her and at his expression she chuckled._

" _Do you enjoy what you're doing every day? Are you happy?"_

 _This was so_ _ **Amaterasu**_ _that he almost, almost rolled his eyes. She had a queer habit of asking the most bizarre questions._

" _Yes." he said defensively. Of course he was happy. What kind of question was that? He had Sasuke, his mother, Shisui and her with him, all in good condition._

 _When he told her this, she laughed._

" _What about training? What do you think of that?"_

" _It is necessary."_

 _She rolled over at this point to stare at him directly._

" _Do you enjoy it?"_

 _He stopped to really think about that. It depended on where he was and who he was doing it with. If it was with Amaterasu or Shisui then yes, he did enjoy it. It was amiable and fun, and they were doing it to improve themselves in the shinobi arts. If it was with Yashiro-taichō or any of the other higher ranked Uchiha jōnin, then no, he didn't really enjoy it. It wasn't about improving himself then. It was about_ having _to be better. There was no sense of accomplishment after those sessions, just a mental drain of sorts._ _He_ _always felt like he had to prove himself, because he knew they were judging everything he did and that if he ever slipped up, it would reflect badly on his father._

 _He didn't appreciate that kind of pressure at all, but he was willing to go through it if it meant it would bring his family more prestige. He wanted to be the son that would make his father proud, no matter what._

" _Why does it matter?" he asked instead. Amaterasu took her hair out of her ponytail and shook it out, brushing it with her fingers as the long, dark locks draped over her shoulders. She always played with her hair whenever she was contemplating stuff. It was just another thing that was just... Amaterasu._

" _You've graduated the academy now, so you should think about your future career path, right?" she began slowly._

 _Yes, that was true. He hadn't really thought about it before now. He just assumed he'd get as strong as he could and keep on training, doing missions, and do whatever his sensei or Yashiro-san suggested._

" _So you should start thinking about what makes you happy so that you can do it for the rest of your life. Do you want to be a career chūnin? Jōnin squad leader? Jōnin sensei? ANBU? Police force? Medic?"_

 _The last one surprised him._

" _Why would I be a medic?" he asked, flustered. It wasn't something he had considered at all, mainly because it was rare for any Uchiha to become a medic, particularly the ones with had a high likelihood of unlocking the Sharingan._

 _His father had always said that the most successful shinobi were the ones called for top secret missions, in the heat of action, fighting at the front of wars and cutting down as much of the enemy force as possible. Saying it explicitly didn't sound very nice, but he had always regarded the medics as shinobi that had given up on their original dreams of being strong shinobi because it was too difficult. The path of the medic had always seemed like the easier path to go._

 _Itachi wasn't going to give up. He knew he was capable of the hardest stuff out there._

" _Shinobi do their duty to the very end and they bring pride and prestige to their clan name." echoed in the young Uchiha's head. Medics had never been classed as shinobi in his mind at all. What kind of medic cut down the opposition, defended their village or helped ending wars?_

" _You have really good chakra control. You're smart. There's really no reason you shouldn't be one if you wanted to." Amaterasu answered cautiously. He guessed he sounded a tad offended that she had even mentioned it as a possibility._

" _So, what do you_ _ **want**_ _to do?" she asked again, and it was strangely irking him._

" _It doesn't matter. Shinobi do their duty and bring pride to their clan." he quoted sharply. "I will take whatever path that brings the most prestige to my father's name, no matter how difficult it is. That's what I want to do."_

 _Yes. That sounded right. His father would have ruffled his hair and beamed at him with that usual proud smile but... why was Ama looking at him like..._ that _?_

" _Ah. Okay." she said finally, her eyes becoming unfocused as they always did when she was properly_ thinking _. Itachi knew she wouldn't be moving from that spot for a while and sighed. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he had said something wrong, but he had always been praised when he said things like that before._

 _He almost started when she spoke once more, tone strangely...disappointed._

" _So you're against peace."_

 _Itachi's gaze almost turned_ _ **angry**_ _as memories of piles of dead people and groaning, pleading men resurfaced._

" _ **No**_ _." he denied vehemently, eyes flashing, but even as he opened his mouth to retort, Amaterasu continued._

" _You said you'd walk the path that brings most prestige to your father's name. Your father grew up during war and fought during one too. In his mind, obviously the most prestige would be the shinobi on the front lines, the one that is the most skillful, most powerful... that's all prestige, isn't it?" she said quietly. "So you must not want the war to end, if that's the path you want to walk. There's not much use in being the most powerful shinobi during peaceful times."_

 _Itachi's voice died in his throat._

" _You think powerful shinobi end wars? What, by killing more people? Come on, Itachi. You know that just festers more hate into the next generation, and then the cycle repeats..."Ama paused and took a deep breath before continuing._

" _You know what's wrong in this world? Society. Hierarchy. Don't let your thoughts spiral down their paths. Make your own. You should have your_ _ **own**_ _opinions, because guess what? You're the one that's living your life."_

 _And not your father - the unspoken words were heard loud and clear._

" _Make sure you inform yourself of the right facts, and make your own choices. Don't be happy with just something someone tells you. Research it and get proof so you know it's a hundred percent true. Everyone has a_ _ **right**_ _to that freedom, it's just who has the strength to establish that right for themselves."_

* * *

"But _why,_ Nii-san? I want to learn cool green chakra too!"

"Not now, Sasuke."

"But nii-saaaaaaa - oof! OW! NII-SAN!."

Itachi smothered a smile as he turned away from the irate five year old with a growing red mark on his forehead and called to his mother.

"I'll be making dinner tonight if you don't have anything planned, Kaa-san."

There was a pause before his mother popped her head round the door to the corridor, her brows furrowed.

"Are you sure, Itachi? You have a shift tonight, not to mention that mission report - "

Itachi nodded, tapping Sasuke on the shoulder.

"I'll pop into the market on the way home. Sasuke and I can make curry."

At his younger brother's excited cheer, Itachi smirked before nodding to his mother and leaving the house, beginning the walk to the hospital. His life had taken a drastic change over the past year. Something he hadn't been expecting at all, but to be fair he had brought it upon himself.

He had conjured up Amaterasu's words from that particular conversation a lot during his time on the war front. How he had apparently had a right to make his own decisions... it didn't feel like that at all when he was at the front - he absolutely _had_ to listen to his captain. It was beyond the law, they were _orders._ He didn't have a right to make his own decisions there.

When he had voiced his queries to his captain, Kakashi-san had blinked down at him owlishly.

"What a queer question." he had drawled slowly, before thinking in silence for a bit. Itachi liked that about Kakashi. He took your thoughts and opinions seriously, instead of brushing them off because of your age.

"Well… first off, you technically _are_ making the decision to listen to me." he began finally.

"But if I don't, there will be consequences." Itachi protested. That wasn't being given the choice of making a decision.

"A choice doesn't always have to be between something good and something bad. It can also be between something bad and something worse." Kakashi hummed quietly, making him frown.

Ama had made it sound like a good thing at the time. He hadn't really understood back then, but now he had experienced what a well-chosen decision could change.

Itachi arrived at the hospital and quickly entered the top floor where the library was. He would memorise a few books tonight and practice the blood clotting technique tomorrow. His mind and body were calm, and he relaxed in a way that he couldn't outside the hospital. It was his sanctuary.

It was beyond the expectations of himself that he had become so used to. He could never know too much, could never be ahead. Here, in the world of medicine, his competitor was himself. No one could decide how far he was but himself, and no one could tell him he was behind or not far enough ahead.

It was completely in his control. It was perfecting little things, intellectually broadening his knowledge, and things that challenged his mind beyond what the shinobi arts could ever offer him. Tsunade's teachings were always straight to the point, like her personality, but medicine had very few things that were that simple. Itachi enjoyed finding the hidden meanings, the hidden cues, the shortcuts and the subtle hints that she undoubtedly wanted him to work out for himself.

He really loved it.

If Ama had asked him now if he was happy, he could answer a firm yes. Thinking about Amaterasu had a way of making his insides scrunch up in worry, however... she was supposedly safe, continuing her training elsewhere, but he knew it wasn't that simple.

Who was she with if Jiraiya-sama was here? Shisui's reaction when he had voiced his questions cemented his belief that something wasn't quite right. The elder Uchiha's eyes had shadowed, his fists had clenched and his voice had been clipped.

The usually cheerful Uchiha had been... angry.

* * *

 _Itachi blinked._

 _He blinked again._

 _The sudden intrusion on their ambush mission was in the form of a blond woman. She wasn't really dressed for the war front - navy trousers, a long green cardigan and ... heels? But she looked furious, hands fisted and amber eyes flashing._

 _Ah._

 _He knew why she looked familiar. She was supposed to be legendary, but he couldn't help but feel worried for her. She was standing in front of a whole troop of Kumo ninja, seemingly defenseless._

 _Itachi locked eyes with his slightly appalled looking captain, whose mismatched eyes drooped. He gave no indication of going out to help however, so the young Uchiha remained silently nestled behind one of the trees. The ones in Yu no Kuni weren't as broad branched as the ones in Hi no Kuni, but they were a lot more leafy and provided darker shadows for more coverage._

" _You lot raided the village on your way here, didn't you?" the legendary kunoichi began coldly._

 _At the confused silence, she continued into a full out roar, one of her hands fisting threateningly._

" _Yugakure disarmed, you all know that! You all know it's not war etiquette to hit a village that weakened themselves in the name of peace! You selfish Kumo twats are the only reason wars like this happen!"_

 _Her fist slammed into the ground in front of her, and the release of chakra was so great Itachi felt his hair blow backwards at the sheer presence of it. He understood enough to realize she must have channeled, concentrated and released it all from the small tenketsu in her knuckles in a fraction of a second... that was seriously impressive chakra control._

 _That amount of chakra, streaming under high pressure into the ground... Itachi paled._

 _He caught the sudden sign for retreat from his captain and flickered back with a burst of his own chakra._

 _Not a millisecond too soon - the ground exploded._

 _All the trees within a twenty meter radius were uprooted due to the formation of the large crater, and Itachi couldn't help but gulp, blinking rapidly to try and clear the dust from his eyes. He surveyed the resulting damage - the Kumo nin had hurried backwards and none of them seemed particularly affected physically. It must have been part of her intimidation tactic then, rather than one aiming to hurt._

 _She must be pretty confident to display her capabilities in front of them to let them prepare... but judging from the stories he had heard and read about her, she had plenty reason to be._

" _I am going to beat you all up so badly you won't even be able to dream of doing something like this again." she hissed lowly, feet stanced and chakra building once more. Itachi looked again to his captain for orders but received the same 'Stay put'. Kakashi sat in a calm position on his branch, looking the most relaxed he had ever been since arriving with his team at the front. The young Uchiha watched, slightly shocked as his captain even covered his Sharingan with his forehead protector._

 _Itachi soon realized why - she was true to her word._

 _It only took about five minutes. The whole troop of over twenty Kumo nin were groaning and unable to move due to the number of shattered bones they had suddenly obtained in their respective bodies. One thing Itachi subconsciously noticed was that none of the inflicted injuries seemed to have broken skin... There was no blood spilled. Any internal injuries were also evidently not severe enough for blood to appear outside the body._

 _Itachi was ... very impressed. It was the first time he had seen someone attack without aiming to kill at the war front. Tsunade had spent most her time evading attacks and the way she did so was fluid, no movement or burst of chakra wasted. Every one of her attacks were calculated - where she placed it, how much damage she inflicted - it was all worked out in her head before she went for it. While it likely wasn't something like how a Nara would plan in advance, her battle experience showed in the way she fought._

 _Tsunade-sama was a tad out of breath and had a few strands of hair out of place, but looked satisfied with her work._

" _Make sure you think while you're cooped up in the hospital." she shot at them before dusting off her hands, fixing her cardigan and stalking off. She paused to stare meaningfully at the tree containing his captain, who bowed his head at her respectfully despite her probably not being able to see him._

" _Don't you dare finish them." she said in a cold, quiet tone. "I don't know what your sensei is thinking, it's only been three years since the last war. Haven't you had enough?"_

 _With that, she disappeared._

 _The nine-year-old Itachi Uchiha was intrigued. It seemed he had found someone that seemed to hate war as much as he did. Despite having obtained a legendary status during a war, she seemed to oppose it, and what made Itachi slightly envious was that she had the freedom to act without being tied to a particular village or clan. Tsunade had just fought as a warning to prevent another attack against a disarmed village. She was protecting innocent people that had been exploited by war, instead of fighting on one side and hoping that that side had better morals than the other. Although, when things got desperate, he guessed morals weren't going to be very high on a shinobi village's priority list._

 _Her display of physical prowess was also truly remarkable, particularly considering she was most famous for her medical ninjutsu. How? Why did she leave the village? Could he do that too? Was it worth it? What was being a medic really like? How did she get to where she was now?_

 _It was following these burning questions that he paused for the slightest moment._

 _He had a choice. It might've been a 'bad or worse' kind of choice, but it was a choice nonetheless._

 _Leave his team, follow the kunoichi, ask his questions and probably get ignored versus stay here, stay quiet and hope for another chance to present itself._

 _Amaterasu's words rang in his head._

" _It's who has the strength to establish that right for themselves."_

 _If he didn't go now he probably wouldn't get another chance like this. What were the chances he would run into her again? But then again, if he abandoned his group and something went wrong... it would be his fault._

 _He made his choice once he caught eyes with his captain._

 _The young Uchiha summoned a clone to inform his captain of his whereabouts before silently leaping off, tracking the strongest medic in the world._

 _He knew he probably shouldn't have left the group, considering that they were currently the main squad for this part of the front, but if Kakashi-san really had a problem with it, Itachi wouldn't be flickering through the trees right now._

 _Whether this was right or wrong, it was Kakashi-san's choice now._

* * *

 **AGES**

 **Sasuke/Naruto - 5**

 **Amaterasu - 8**

 **Itachi - 10**

 **Arata - 12**

 **Shisui - 12**

 **Kakashi - 21**

 **Itachi only began disagreeing with the clan's policies when he reached 11/12, Because his father's gone, Itachi's stuck with his ideals like glue, since he feels like he has to do good for his dead father. So at this point, young Itachi Uchiha is very prone to brainwashing by the clan, and he could actually end up as their puppet. All they'd have to say is 'your father would be proud' and he'd be down. At that young age, he wouldn't even begin to think 'What if my father was wrong?" That's what I wanted to address in that rather long flashback with Ama. I'm glad a conversation with her made him start questioning stuff, because that caused a ripple and now he's a medic (Say whaaat? Ikr quite sudden - bear with me.)**

 **Argh, so many questions and loose ends in this chapter. Ask the right questions and you will get your answers ;) Why did Amaterasu stay away for a whole year? What, the war stopped? How?! Um are authors just allowed to do that? Just conclude something before halfheartedly explaining it in weird flashbacks?**

 **Well yes. Fear not dear readers. All will be thoroughly explained soon. Your frustration is my fuel :P But if you're confused please do ask. I will be happy to provide explanations where I'm not clear (which is more often than not ngl). Every chapter contains at least a seed that will sprout later on in the story, this one just had quite a few seeds ;) Keep up!**

 **Love you all have a lovely weekend.**

 **Lei xx**

 **PS GUESS WHO'S FINISHED WITH EXAMS BITCHESSSSSSSSS**


	17. Seventeen

Minato Namikaze was an awful Hokage.

He really thought so. He had repeatedly and desperately admitted this to the Sandaime, only to have his shoulder patted and a plume of smoke puffed into his face before being left to his work.

It was perhaps because of this pent up self hate that he was kind of glad when someone had spent a good half an hour simply outright _telling him_ what he was doing wrong, what he had messed up and how he really was the worst Hokage in existence. It had been about ten months ago that Tsunade Senju had stormed into his office, looking determined and holding a vaguely disturbed looking Itachi Uchiha by the collar.

"Minato Namikaze." she had spat, and Minato had refrained from wincing at the harsh tone. "Not only do you initiate a war three years after the last one ended, but you _still_ don't change the medical staffing rotas. Your tactics are assault based, so obviously there are high injury rates and yet you don't have people that patch them up routinely. That is why, _this_ one -" she gave the poor child in her grip a firm shake at this "- has had an infected gash in his arm festering for three weeks. If you had one medic, ONE qualified medic in his team, that would _never_ have happened."

Minato blinked apologetically to Itachi, who strangely looked more apologetic back.

"Also, what is all this about Jiraiya? What happened to him and why did it happen? I've told him time and time again… did you send him out on one of those undercover missions? You know those are all bullshit, right? Most of those operations have a ridiculous risk for little gain and I thought you'd be smart enough to see tha-"

It was at this point that Minato had politely interrupted her to ask if she would kindly let go of his subordinate and let them discuss classified topics alone.

And they did.

He had spoken to her, listened to a lot of what she had to say and he had appreciated it all. She spoke about Yugakure, who had disarmed in the name of peace and were suffering for their plight despite doing the right thing. She spoke about how in a small village on the coast of Hi no Kuni there were multiple leaders of different fields instead of a single one looking over everything. She spoke about how that village had starved over summer due to a flood destroying all their crops, floods which resulted from intensive ninjutsu being used. And most of all, she ripped into him about the war.

"So. You initiated this war on behalf of your comrades because you didn't like that Kumo wanted Hiashi's head - you thought it was outrageous that they'd even have the audacity to ask for it in the first place. You thought they were testing how much of a pushover you were as a new Hokage and how much Konoha had weakened as a result of the attack from the Kyūbi." she had stated bluntly.

"You are **stupid**. Are you looking through a kunai hole because your vision of the world is narrower than the _width of a capillary_."

Minato's blue eyes shadowed in shame, but there was a part of him that was feeling relieved. Someone was finally pointing out that he was doing something wrong, and once you know what you are doing wrong, you can start fixing it. He knew he was making mistakes but he didn't know _exactly_ what they were, and because the people around him pitied his situation and wanted to make him feel better, they didn't tell him what he was messing up on. He could hardly describe how was relieved he felt now that the circle was breaking. He felt like he was finally breathing in fresh, cold air.

It stung a bit though.

"I wonder how much better your friends are feeling now that their survival has brought upon the suffering of so many others. You played this right into their hand, Minato. They wanted trouble and you gave it right to them. The thing about war, kid, is that it doesn't just affect the two villages involved. It involves people who have never picked up a weapon in their whole lives. People who were just going about their business when their own homes and family were destroyed for a cause they gave no shit about."

"You wanted to make the better choice? You were just being selfish, only thinking on the shinobi side. The only guilt you had was for the shinobi that died. You were jumping from front to front in the past war so much that you never really had the chance to stop and experience what was happening to the innocent people around you. You never really thought about where those rations came from, did you? Did you think they came from a moral source? You think that farmer who grew that rice is still alive, let alone got paid for it?"

She shook her head gravely, looking disappointed more than anything and Minato's self hate reached new levels. Perhaps it had been visible however, because the Slug Princess' gaze softened.

"Kid. You're just a kid, you know? You are a real, clueless idiot sometimes. You will make mistakes and they will have consequences, but if you keep thinking about it, the _other_ consequences that follow from your wallowing will keep getting worse. You need to snap out of it, fix the problems in front of you right now and then move on. That's what good Hokage are supposed to do. It's not just a job you can hand in a resignation form for."

There was a long pause after that, but the young Hokage's shoulders straightened and a determined gaze settled on the blond medic.

"I need your help, Tsunade. I understand you have a difficult past with the village but I am willing to take your considerations into account, as I feel you have vital knowledge and understanding of what is happening in other parts of the world. I -" he began, and his voice assumed the tone he so often used during 'political discussions'. Perhaps that was why he was brutally cut off.

"Cut the shit, Minato. The only reason I left was because no one was listening to me, because nothing I said related to the prosperity and power of the village. The fact that you did makes me think of you as less of a bad choice for the Hokage position."

Minato wasn't sure what he felt about that backhanded compliment but he stayed silent. The woman in front of him was extremely valuable to the village. Her points about medical staffing were valid, and he offered her a position overlooking all the medical training, as well as the duty to rewrite the regulations regarding the medic to shinobi ratio on teams and missions.

She had initially refused, naturally, but he had expected that.

What he hadn't expected was her agreeing on the condition that the war stopped and she got to mentor Itachi. From what he understood the boy had the mentality she wanted in an apprentice, but for some reason he couldn't quite suppress a cough of surprise.

Itachi Uchiha? A medic? He was showing so much talent on the combat side of things though...

Speaking of which, Minato wasn't even sure how they had met. He vaguely remembered a report where Tsunade had interrupted an ambush mission, but... oh well. As long as Itachi had no qualms about it, Minato didn't mind being on their side should they have to butt heads with the Uchiha clan. Tsunade had been satisfied with that, if the broad smirk had anything to do with it.

She had sighed deeply when standing up to leave however.

"I hate this village." she said bluntly, her amber eyes honest. "I hate how it is now but… I think you want to do good. You need to be more proactive and find out what's wrong rather that what you get told is wrong. Most people you have contact with don't really know what it's actually like out there. Sure, there are economic, political and prosperous sides to the village that need to be maintained, but it shouldn't be to the expense of others."

"Your decisions hold a lot of weight, Minato. Beyond what you can imagine. Surround yourself with people with differing views and experiences, and make the bad choice instead of the worse one. Whatever you do, make sure you remember that you're not alone."

Minato had agreed then and he agreed now. Even as he had made direct negotiations with the Raikage and had settled on an agreement after five consecutive days of meetings, he hadn't been alone. He had Shikaku for analysis, Hiashi for his side of the story and he had brought Danzō because he knew the elder would only think of the village.

And then, after listening to everyone, Minato drew the line. Of course, no one was happy about it, but Minato was starting to understand that that was just how it was going to be.

They hadn't come out of the negotiations unscathed. Kumogakure was also stretched thin from the past war, although not to the same extent as Konoha, but the Raikage was prideful and stubborn - Minato had to lose in order to win.

Once the negotiations ended, he was feeling a bit more confident in himself however. He would make things better and not worse.

A year later and Minato felt satisfied with the changes made so far in the way the village was run. Shikaku had full control over rewriting the regulations, going through all the cases that had been swept under the rug and working with the Konoha Police Force on a whole new set of patrols within the village, as well as positioning new outposts for defence outside the village.

Tsunade had officially returned just last week. She had stormed the hospital on her first day, calling all heads of department before she began firing and hiring left and right. There was a new Academy course available that went past the basics of first aid to make access into the world of iryō-nin easier for the youngsters.

The missions department had been reworked too. Rankings were decided by the usual ministers, but at least one iryō-nin was present to assess mission risks and choose a medic of the appropriate level to assign them to. Their numbers had waned over the years but with Tsunade in charge, Minato expected to see them rise over the next few years.

Not everything was going well however. The investigation into Danzō had gotten nowhere and he had decided to pause it. There had been a special case where he had gone out with a squad of ANBU to obtain a certain suspect, and that had taken a big chunk out of his thoughts.

Amaterasu was also supposed to arrive in the next few days. At this thought, a wry, weak smile appeared on the tired Hokage's lips.

Things would be going to go from complicated to beyond conceivable after all.

* * *

Jiraiya sat at the meeting point, sipping a cup full of sake and seemingly relaxed. His eyes washed over his late time companions at the bar warily however, and his posture was slightly tense.

Why did they want to meet here again?

A familiar presence flared in the corner and he very nearly jumped.

The relief that spread over him was not short-lived and he sighed as it washed warmly over his body, eyes shutting as he surveyed the calmer signature slowly in the privacy of his mind.

There was a calm thrum of _power_ as opposed to the sheer uncontrolled buzzing of her presence from before, and unless he was wrong the magnitude of her chakra reserves had increased as well. The air around the signature was much more stable, and Jiraiya was glad. She had had difficult times, and it seemed the few details he had managed to pick up on the lynxes had been true. They must have worked with her Yin side.

The next time Jiraiya opened his eyes, a young girl sat opposite him, her head resting on the hands that were propped up on the table in front of her. Her unsettling large eyes were now closer described as dark grey, or onyx - paler than the eerily deep ebony that she had before, and the pupils seemed slightly slitted. Her hair was not in the ponytail he was used to. It was longer now, tied neatly in two strange braids down the back of her scalp and ending into a normal plait near the bottom.

She didn't _look_ that different, perhaps a bit taller and her eyes paler, but it definitely was Amaterasu.

The girl was also simply staring at him quietly, her eyes _knowing_ as always and Jiraiya's eyes crinkled into a strained smile.

"Young, fresh shoots are better for kindling brighter fires than dead, dry branches, don't you think?" she spoke softly, drumming the wood of the table with three fingers in a distinct pattern to him, but unnoticeable to anyone else.

 _Affirm/Jōnin/Standard -_ she tapped, and Jiraiya had a hard time suppressing a loud laugh.

Her first line was the question all Konoha-nin ranked above genin were taught to ask when meeting in a place out of the village. There were three potential replies to this question - the chūnin one asked her another question back, and the jōnin one agreed with her. Imposters or genin would be confused by the statement and disagree as it logically didn't make sense.

She was using it in this scenario as she knew anyone able to mimic his chakra signature or even try and pretend to be him would not be genin level. She was testing him on three layers however, and he wryly admitted to himself that he honestly didn't expect anything less from Amaterasu Uchiha.

The first confirmation was whether or not he understood the first line.

The second was whether or not he understood the Konoha standard tap code.

The third was whether or not he knew her like she knew he did. She _shouldn't know_ that the Jōnin standard even _existed_ , as she was barely a genin. She knew that the real him knew that she knew things she shouldn't know... but he also understood that she didn't expect him to reply with the actual Jōnin standard, because she wasn't actually a Jōnin.

It was difficult to understand, unless you were _him_ and you knew her like he did. It was fool proof, and there were enough holes and traps that no one but the true him would know what she wanted to hear.

"That's ridiculous." he replied with a wry chuckle. "Sounds like you're trying to be smart and failing."

A barely noticeable smirk quirked the side of her lip upwards, and Jiraiya felt a fresh wave of relief. It really was her, and she hadn't really changed. The noticeable thrum of her chakra dimmed down as it was tucked away into her inner coils.

When his sensei had told him of his meeting with a member of the Lynx clan, Jiraiya had been worried. That had been the first time they had heard about Amaterasu after her disappearance. Using the summoning jutsu without a contract was a massive gamble and he had told her as such. Repeatedly. Not to mention there was basically nothing known about those felines in the human realm, and they were incredibly secretive and guarded their territory carefully in the summoning one.

He had heard from Minato, however, of what she had done after he had passed out from his wounds during the encounter with the squad from Kumogakure. He wasn't surprised that she had been pushed to make a move desperate to _that_ extent, and he came to agree that it had been the best choice she could've possibly made in that scenario.

She had been so close to dying... and it had been his fault. There were a good few weeks in which they all thought she had been taken or killed.

Jiraiya knew that he gave off a strong aura of goofiness and an air of 'clumsy and slightly dumb'. He knew because he had cultivated his appearance for a long time to do exactly that. So when this girl trotted in and pretended all those layers didn't exist, he had originally been wary. Now he wasn't even surprised when she had realised the turn his thoughts had taken.

"It wasn't your fault." The voice was so high and so young. It was misleading because this girl was capable of so much.

Jiraiya sighed.

"You need to stop doing that." he said gruffly, not meeting her eyes. "That stupid mind reading thing. It's creepy."

She giggled, and Jiraiya's heart softened at the genuine sound. She really was just a kid with worries beyond the weight of the world. She didn't know how important she was.

"It's just guesswork." she remarked. "Smart guesswork."

Jiraiya shook his head, faintly exasperated.

"Let's get you home, you trouble magnet." he said finally, after calming himself down a bit. He had been beyond stressed, digging for information on the lynxes in every country he travelled to, and even trying to search in the summoning realm. Seeing her here, safe and stable, was a relief.

They walked out of the bar after he finished his drink, and Jiraiya barely noticed the silent presence joining them on Amaterasu's other side despite its size. Its back came up to her stomach, its head to her shoulders and its pale eyes glowed in the dark, surveying him slowly. Amaterasu didn't so much as blink but naturally fisted her small hand into the fur of its neck.

They were in tune in a way that was eerily similar to the Inuzuka and their ninken, but with much more grace and silence. The aura was... powerful. Jiraiya stopped, before facing the animal and pausing before bowing his head curtly.

"Thank you for accepting Amaterasu."

There was a pause as the animal seemed to process this before he gave a short nod back. Its eyes did not leave Jiraiya's - it would not be the one who looked away first. Jiraiya understood that it was all about hierarchy with the animals, particularly the felines. Instead of taking it as a challenge, Jiraiya realised it was trying to show him that they were not pushovers.

It was showing him that they had done a good job of keeping Amaterasu safe, and that they were competent. This one had been sent for that purpose - as a representative of their animal kingdom. The intelligence in its eyes was unquestionable.

"This is Kin." Amaterasu introduced finally, once Jiraiya broke eye contact and she felt the original tension simmer away. "He's my partner, and he'll be helping me adjust to this part of the world again for the next month."

Jiraiya nodded, and they resumed walking down the quiet street once more. They walked silently, and the usual earthy scent of Amaterasu wasn't there anymore. If he couldn't see her, it would have felt as though she was barely there.

Her aura had changed, but it was a shift in maturity and stability rather than a difference in the raw magnitude of reserves she had barely harnessed before. They chatted about the things they used to on their travels, slipping in and out of a variety of subjects including current affairs, new techniques, Naruto and just general calming, familiar banter.

"I was hoping to resume training with my clan for the next year or so." she brought up as they naturally hopped to the trees once the forest surrounding Konoha came into sight.

"That will happen whether you want it or not, I presume." Jiraiya answered easily. "I think you training to use your Sharingan properly is a good idea. You need to start pushing your ninjutsu so you can keep that up with them too."

"I need someone to help with my body conditioning though. Do you have any recommendations?" she requested and Jiraiya thought for a bit.

"You do realise you'll be assigned to a genin team now, right?" he said instead, and her face soured.

"That'll take so much _time._ " she mumbled, annoyance lacing her voice and her eyes calculating. "Ugh. Whatever. Fine. I'll fit it into my schedule."

Her curtness simply amplified his amusement. Her desire to get stronger and her drive was admirable, but it would be good for her to be around people closer to her age. Perhaps it would make her loosen up a bit. The war was over now so there was less pressure for her to focus on getting stronger every day.

"Body conditioning? I would ask a kid called Maito Gai. He's about the same age as Kakashi, and he's a taijutsu expert." For some reason, the kid stiffened at this before nodding and mumbling something about asking him later.

They stopped for camp once it got dark. It would only take another day to get back to the village, and Jiraiya saw no rush. He was off the next day anyways, so he wanted to spend some time with her as he didn't think he'd be back for a while. Around the camp fire they continued to talk, moving onto subjects like the war and their attack.

"Minato told me you engaged the Kumo-nin." the Toad Sage began quietly, his tone sharpening a tad. The girl's eyes dimmed, and the hand that was stroking her lynx's tail stilled. Kin's pale eyes focused on her and she shared a glance with him from her position leaning on his warm body.

"I worked out they were a suicide squad for the village. I needed to stall or draw attention to them, but I didn't mean to fully engage the combat team." she replied with a sigh. "I know it was stupid. I should've listened to your toads, I know, and I'm sorry."

Jiraiya paused, eyeing her unhappily.

"If it happened again," he began slowly. "You would do it again."

There was no reply for a while before she let out a small nod.

"Then you're not really sorry, are you?" the Sage bit out.

"That's why I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it worried you and you disagree with me as my teacher. I'm sorry I would do it again, but I'm not going to lie, I would." she explained softly. "The reason I train, the reason I try so hard, is to prevent people from getting hurt. There was no point in me hiding when you were disabled and they were going to do something so awful to the village… that defeats the point of all the effort I put into the shinobi arts if I get scared in those situations."

Jiraiya's hand twitched.

"If Shima-sama and Fukasaku-sama were there, how under control do you think the situation was?" he asked tonelessly. "Who else has signed the toad contract? Who could perform a teleportation jutsu to our location? You caused unnecessary worry and made things _worse_ because you felt like things weren't going your way. In those scenarios, Amaterasu, you trust your comrades. Because all that effort you've put into the shinobi arts? That'll all be wasted for nothing if you jump out at the wrong time or engage the wrong enemy. You want to help? Keep to the things you know you can do, and act on only those. Trust your comrades, particularly the ones that have spent more than four times your life span training."

There was a silence after his speech, and there was no movement for a good few minutes. Jiraiya let her reflect and mull over his words. When it seemed like she understood what he meant, he continued.

"This is why team experience is important for someone like you, Ama. You want to race ahead and achieve all these new skills because you think that'll make you more competent and more useful, but you're wrong. There are things you can learn, that you _must_ learn, from your peers - no matter how behind you think they are compared to you." he said gravely, voice stern. The girl was focusing on the embers of the fire, her posture relaxed. She was understanding. "Circumstances over the past couple of years meant you did require personal training, but you need to learn how to work in a team or you won't be as good a Konoha shinobi as I know you want to be."

There was another pause during which Amaterasu shot a look at the lynx she was lying on. Jiraiya mentally noted to mull this over later. They were in tune, but in a way that went farther than just spending too much time together.

Were they... communicating perhaps? There was a quiet, but _warning_ growl at the back of the lynx's throat and the suddenness of it made Jiraiya tense, eyes flickering between them warily. The girl was close enough that a sharp movement from that large animal could definitely kill her, and he didn't trust them fully yet.

"Fine. Fine. Fine!" Amaterasu burst out finally, brows furrowing in irritation before looking over at her previous shishō. "I admit, I was hoping to get some more special treatment until Naruto's year graduated."

There was a dead silence.

"Naruto hasn't even started the Academy, Amaterasu." he deadpanned, the urge to roll his eyes stronger than ever. The sheepish grin she shot back at him made him glare at her fondly.

"I understand though. Thanks for telling me shishō, I needed to hear that." she nodded, eyes serious now. "I haven't done any missions and I graduated almost three years ago. That's three years of genin experience - the year I graduated with don't like me much though." she cringed at this.

"They'll get over it. You're hard to dislike for long."

Jiraiya wasn't sure why he said that. The shocked expression on the girl's face cemented that thought, and he quickly backtracked with a hasty "Time is a relative thing though - I still don't like you." - but the damage had been done. The beam that she shot at him was almost uncomfortable because it shone with genuine happiness.

Why did she want his approval so much? Damn, she was acting like she really cared about it. At this point he caught the lynx's gaze, which was worryingly thoughtful.

Whatever. She was a good kid. Ninja were wary of the unknown however, and he had been very unsure of the child because there was so much she seemed to be hiding... and because she seemed so different. Her mind worked differently. Though the more he got to know her, the more of her innocent and selfless thought processes presented themselves and suddenly she didn't seem so complicated any more.

She just wanted to help. Always. There was not even a hint of malicious intent in her. Even when fighting, she went for the quick finish if she could, and never relished in being more powerful than someone else. The reason she wanted to get strong was sincerely for others, not for personal gain or greed. This coupled with her strange intellectual fascination with the shinobi arts and the enjoyment she got out of training made him understand her tireless drive to always want to get better.

Shaking his head exasperatedly, he snuffed out the fire.

"Go to sleep." he mumbled gruffly before stalking off.

Kids were annoying.

* * *

Amaterasu stopped outside the large gates of Konoha, onyx eyes surveying the entrance with a newfound sort of fascination.

She had missed this place. It had been home for so long, and it was _her_ home. Amaterasu Uchiha's home. The musky scents imprinted themselves into her sharpened sensory memory, and she associated it with warmth, love and belonging. A hand clapped her shoulder and she looked up at the large man next to her. He signalled to the gate guard before turning to her.

"You're leaving already?" she asked, a slight frown appearing on her face. The Sage's loud chortle assaulted her sensitive ears and she glared. Here he went again, being all boisterous for his image.

"I have things to do, people to ... uh... s _ee_! Hehehe!" he cackled before shooting off in a hilarious sprint down the dusty path that kicked up half the dust and dirt that had collected. That was going to be a bitch to clean. The slight squeeze of her shoulder before he left said volumes however, and Amaterasu shook her head amusedly.

Jiraiya of the Sannin, ladies and gentlemen.

"Hey kid, you alright?" the chūnin guard asked, eyes squinting in disapproval at the cloud of dust the legendary shinobi had left in his wake.

"All good." she replied with a tired sigh. "I'm going to see Minat- I mean, Hokage-sama." She smothered her hand into Kin's neck and the familiar motion, coupled with his warmth, soothed her mixed emotions.

"Umm you're going to have to book an appointment for tha- uh. Kid! Hey! You need to register!" the guard called after the walking girl. She paused, turning back to look at him quizzically. With a start, she quickly glanced down at the animal on her left, but the guard had no reaction.

Genjutsu?

 _Heh. No. I'm just quiet._

You're also quite big and rather hard to miss. Sound doesn't have much to do with it.

 _...Fine. Maybe it is a bit of genjutsu._

Rolling her eyes, Amaterasu let herself be lead to the side of the post where she waited patiently for someone to deal with her paperwork. It seemed as though the workings of the village administration side had changed... although she had been away for the last few years. She didn't expect them to recognise her.

Three years.

She had been away from here for three years.

The wonder at that statement took a while to sink in, and she felt slightly incredulous. She had been too busy to properly think about it, but she had been away for ages. That was more than a third of her life.

 _Don't get sentimental, and pay attention. He's talking to you._

" -ou have no identification, you have no headband. I'm going to have to ask you a few -"

Amaterasu blinked up at the chūnin, surprised. She didn't recognise him and he was different to the one that had met her at the gate. This one seemed newly promoted, he was evidently nervous.

"- and you just need to sign here, there and -"

She shook her head, and he paused, staring at her worriedly.

"Do you understand what I'm saying? Do you need something? Water? Are you feeling okay?"

Amaterasu sighed. Her keen ears picked up a conversation that was going on round the corner - it seemed someone was looking for Jiraiya. Quite rudely too, if the loud shouts were anything to go by. Sharing a confused look with Kin, she picked herself off the chair and trotted around...

…and almost dropped in shock at what she saw.

 _Senju fucking Tsunade_ was standing there. Green cardigan, blond hair, amber eyes and everything and she was just there.

Here.

In the village.

There was complete blankness in her mind for a good few moments and the next time her eyes came into focus there was warm, tingly chakra entering her system and a purple diamond staring her right in the face.

It was Tsunade. Their eyes met and Amaterasu let out a confused "Ngh?". A small, stabilising pressure eased into the sides of her mind, cool energy flowing in and freshening her consciousness up back into focus and out of the haze she had entered.

Amaterasu blinked rapidly. Gosh. She had gone into shock. She breathed, sipped some water offered to her and breathed again.

"I'm so sorry about that! I guess I was a bit overwhelmed." she said softly. She rubbed her hands into Kin's fur in thanks and he nudged her with his head, pale eyes searching worriedly.

"That's alright. Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous?" came the brisk tone of the woman in front of her and Amaterasu shook her head.

"Can we go and see Minato, please?" she asked instead, and understanding clicked in Tsunade's eyes. They shared a look before the woman grabbed her wrist and stalked out of the gate post, ignoring the stuttering and spluttering of the new guard.

They finally entered his office and Amaterasu finally settled her gaze on the blond she had really been wanting to see, and didn't realise she had missed _so much_. Before she knew it she was hugging him, burying her face into his shoulder like she used to do before and his scent was everywhere and it was _him_ and he was okay.

She didn't realise she was crying but she was. Tears silently dripped down her face as she nestled in his arms. His soothing voice calmed her down and hands gently wiped her tears until they stopped, a watery smile plastered on her face. She sat up and stared at him, scanning his dark bags but still twinkling blue eyes.

"You need to shave." she croaked, and he simply chuckled before agreeing.

"Let's get you settled back in." he suggested and Amaterasu nodded, feeling _safe_.

She was okay.

She had made it.

She was finally home.

* * *

 **I wanted to be deep and put some symbolism here. Amaterasu's eyes are now** **_no longer black_** **\- they were always emphasised as being ebony (basically as black as you can get), with a startling resemblance to her late mother's. The lynxes' summoning contract and her use of natural energy with Yin release shifted the colour of her eyes to be more like theirs. The** **now dark grey/onyx will keep getting paler as she continues working with them, but I wanted to subtly symbolise that Amaterasu's changed now. She's not Emily Hawthorn (who had pale blue eyes), and she's accepted that - but she's also not her biological mother's (very very black eyes) daughter. She's someone in between, because of her situation. Her acceptance of that fact has fitted nicely with her temperament now - she's calmer, and she knows who she is.**

 **Meet Amaterasu Uchiha again everyone. This kid has changed, and you all should be very, very excited.**

 **PS Throwback to Chapter 12 - there's been a minor but not really minor change - I would like to clarify that Hizashi is not dead. The reason why the war started is because Kumo wouldn't stop asking for Hiashi's head. Sarutobi sacrificed Hizashi, but to Minato, he is a colleague and teammate in his generation. He didn't.**

 **PPS Explanation on Minato - _Why is he so incompetent?_! Basically - he was shown as too perfect in the manga for me. No one's that perfect. A field shinobi like him will definitely have had an adjusting period where he fucks shit up. Not only was he adjusting to the new job, which doesn't include killing as many people as you can in sight, he was also adjusting to a dead wife and a new son. This was that period. But he's ready to be closer to perfect now I think. He's the type of person to never make the same mistake twice, and I'll show that.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Leave a message my loves.**

 **Lei x**


	18. Eighteen

After a short briefing with Minato, Amaterasu found herself walking slowly around the village. She wandered through that market that was always on from midday, past the dango and tea shop Itachi adored, away from the shaved ice stall with the burly man hollering prices at passersbys, and slowly found herself outside the Ichiraku Ramen stall.

Amaterasu stopped, a contemplative frown on her face. It was small, it was shabby and the stink of grease hit her like a truck. And yet, it had been important.

The Uchiha had spent a lot of time talking with the lynxes about Naruto, and what made him so different. Ama had been worried that having a father may change who he turned out to be, but Aoi had disagreed. Sure, his background may influence the kind of person he'll grow up as, but the absence of parents had relatively little to do with it. It was his friends and the people he became close to that made him the Naruto Uzumaki as she had watched.

There was nothing she could predict any more. Tsunade was back in the village already, there had been an extra war, and there were many more developments she had yet to learn about. Like.. where was Orochimaru? Didn't Minato tag Obito with the Hiraishin seal during their fight? What about Danzō?

Amaterasu found herself ducking under the flap to get inside the stall and the bright call of a large man and a sweet girl welcomed her. She inclined her head and sat on the stool on the far left, eyes still unfocused.

"I'll have a miso ramen with extra pork, please." she said quietly, a dry smile adorning her features as she received an enthusiastic reply from the people behind the counter.

She would have to work with what she knew. There was no point in trying to play god anymore, she just had to be ready for anything. She wanted to be on par with Naruto and Sasuke during the war - that was the level she was aiming for - so hopefully she would be too busy with training to let her mind overthink things.

Amaterasu had spent a lot of time with Naruto and Sasuke before she had left for training, but they had been very little. Neither of them were particularly different from any other child that she would have babysat - cried when hungry, cried when cold, etc. etc.

They would be what - five years old now? Ama knew Naruto was going to do wonders for this world, and that he was going to change people in a way that only Naruto could. It had been the only reason Emily had watched every filler - she could never predict how Naruto could justify his blind trust, or seemingly stupid readings of people. In the end she had concluded it was literally just because Naruto was one of a kind. It could have been because he was the main character of the whole series, but it would still be interesting to see what he really was like. She hoped that he could really see "underneath the underneath", into the very core intentions of a person without anyone (including himself) realising. It was usually taken for naivety... but she thought it was just another perspective.

On top of this, Amaterasu knew he wasn't a stupid child. His quick thinking and surprising strategies had flourished in the war and Naruto was in no way incompetent at being a shinobi, he was just a bit of a late bloomer. She wanted to nurture that from early on - perhaps, she'd be able to be one of those precious people he seemed to adore so much?

She didn't know why the thought of that spread a warm feeling through her chest. She was loved in this world, wasn't she? By Shisui, by Kushina, by Minato, by Itachi, by Mikoto...

Ama had been so deep in thought that she didn't realise her food had been put in front of her until the steam wafted in her face.

"Thank you." she murmured before snapping her chopsticks and digging in. She coughed in a muffled choke and almost completely spat it out straight after however.

Holy hell it was _hot!_ She gave a sheepish smile at the amused stall owner before trying a smaller mouthful. She thought it would be possible to inhale it like they did in the anime but perhaps not.

It _was_ good. It tasted like grease, meat and cheap noodles but it was filling and the strong meaty flavour was very satisfying. She drained the bowl of the soup and placed some coins down on the table after the man named the ridiculously cheap price.

The ramen wasn't anything particularly _special,_ per say, but she didn't know why she had expected it to be. It was just junk food. She stretched, tummy full and called out for Kin in her head. He had gone hunting for some food too.

 _'Meet you at the Uchiha training grounds?'_ she suggested, drawing up a map of sorts showing him the way. His affirmative returned a few moments later and she continued her slow walk to the Uchiha district. Communicating with him in this part of the world was something she was slowly getting used to. It had been easier in the lynx's realm.

* * *

"Yo! I'm back."

Amaterasu didn't think she could get any more awkward as she waved at the two Uchiha boys in front of her. To be fair, they weren't really helping - Shisui seemed to be staring at her blankly and Itachi looked like he was on the verge of sighing. Three years had passed but Amaterasu could still read them like books however. The slight twitch on the corner of Shisui's lip gave away his amusement and the fondly exasperated slant of Itachi's eyebrows was probably in response to her dry greeting. They hadn't changed much - both were taller, Itachi had added another pouch to his arsenal on top of his kunai one, Shisui had another tantō strapped across his back.

The silence didn't last for long.

Amaterasu ducked on instinct as the familiar whistle of a kunai sounded - on a path straight for her _face_ \- and barely blocked the forceful foot that would've dug painfully into her side should her arms not have been there to block it. She flew to the other side of the clearing, her arm aching and chakra rolling agitatedly through her body, sending her mind into overdrive and heightening her senses. The sound of rapidly shifting hands immediately caused her eyes to fly open with a spinning Sharingan, deciphering the signs for FIRE before a swift burst of chakra allowed her to watch a log get incinerated in her place.

Amaterasu silently shifted through the bushes, Sharingan inactive now and chakra suppressed to half her capacity as four clones phased into existence beside her.

There was no thought of why or who she was fighting - there was only the battle, and _focus._

Sharingan user. Careful with shadow clones, may have to keep using replacement on the real body to stop him from tracking.

Amaterasu processed this and drew up other information on her brother and friend in a short moment, chakra suppressed so she was less detectable. With a blank sort of detachment, she acknowledged that it was Shisui who had attacked her.

Amaterasu _felt_ memories from her shadow clones shift and integrate into her subconscious. She had practiced extensively in order to minimise the disorientation that followed every time one of them dispelled, so she could maintain her conscious string of thought without getting distracted.

There was a high pitched whistle, too high to be a kunai, not many enough to be shuriken, but not loud enough to be a katana either, which only left the tantō. Short range, but very strong and _fast_. She won't be able to block, so...

Amaterasu jumped to the side, weaving past and dodging the swipes with minimum effort, bending and using her speed and flexibility to her advantage as she responded to the differing frequencies of the sharp whistles of the weapon cutting through the air. There were two though - the speed and dexterity of their attacks worked well and Ama was forced to whip out a kunai to block the blows that were too fast to dodge.

Her eyes had closed during the fast paced exchange, but they snapped open once a faint sizzling reached her ears. A tug of chakra later and she watched as her shadow clone was blown up by a short ranged exploding tag.

Suddenly she was surrounded by multiple Shisui's - normal clones, she concluded after her irises phased into crimson. The real one flickered within their bodies and Amaterasu blocked the oncoming tantō. What she didn't expect was for the wind to be knocked out of her lungs as a foot slammed into her back, causing her to land heavily with her gut on a branch in front of her.

He was _fast._

She crashed onto the hard floor around ten meters below, wheezing heavily as she tried to get air back in circulation - she couldn't breathe - but still managed to tumble out of the way of a downward swing of the tantō.

The remaining two shadow clones leapt at the attacker, giving her five precious seconds to sink slowly back into the foliage to try and regain her breath. She coughed and felt warm wetness coupled with an iron tang on her tongue - she must have hit that branch harderthan she thought.

Swiping away the red liquid, she focused chakra to her mouth and nose, silencing her heavy wheezing immediately before slowly shifting through the bushes to try and get space between her and the young chūnin. It took longer than she expected for him to find her - almost two whole minutes in total - she was going to ask him about that.

His appearance was marked by a barrage of weapons connected together with wire that thunked around her in a circle, and Amaterasu grimaced before tensing. Her Sharingan flickered briefly on to confirm her suspicions - Shisui was going for another fire attack.

Amaterasu jumped, expecting the fire to spread and contain her within the circle enclosed by the ninja wire. However, instead of heat, she _screamed_ as crackling blue lightning whipped around the clearing using her body as a foci, teeth chattering and pain coursing through her due to the high currents.

The attack stopped short however and she fell slack, unable to move, stunned. She was sure it had been signs for a fire jutsu - he must have switched them after she turned off her Sharingan.

She had been careless. Both Aoi and Jiraiya said that she tended to get overconfident when things went her way, and this was just the latest example of them being right yet again.

Amaterasu only got a brief sense of falling before warm arms enclosed her and landed her gently on the ground, fingers quickly pressing to her neck and wrist to check for a steady pulse.

"Idiot." came the soft mumble and Amaterasu couldn't help but attempt to crack a smile. A few minutes later the effects of the shock had receded and she managed to slowly sit up, shaking her head with a quick breath.

"That was not fun." she hissed as her leg spasmed. Shisui looked faintly amused and - ah, Itachi was here too. A gentle bump at her shoulder coupled with a warm rumble signaled the presence of Kin as well.

After the spasms in her limbs faded to a dim tingle, Amaterasu launched herself at the two Uchiha boys, one in each arm. They were yanked to her height and squeezed, eyes deadpan as their hair was ruffled and cheeks kissed.

"I missed you!" she grinned as she finally released them, their gazes disgruntled. Amaterasu naturally took her position by Kin, hand enveloped in fur as she introduced them. The Uchiha boys were respectful and Kin preened, much to Ama's amusement.

Shinobi did not really _talk_ to exchange 'omg it's been ages, how are you doing's' and 'what have you been up to's', they did that through punches, sharp weapons and jutsu. In true ninja fashion, the three children naturally fell back into a well-tuned game of kunai tag. It basically tested precision and speed as the aim was to see who had the least damage to their clothes at the end of it. One slice was one penalty point, and if your skin was nicked, then that meant you got three points deducted. The person with the least points won. The throws had to be forceful enough to cut through the clothing material, but precise enough so that only the thin material was affected.

Of course: three people were playing, the players were never stationary, and some of the players had the fricking Sharingan... so it was complicated, but that was what made it _fun._

Amaterasu learned three very interesting things during this game.

Itachi had awakened his own Sharingan - relatively recently too as it seemed he had only just achieved the second tomoe.

Shisui was distracted. She had struggled to get even one hit on him before, but she had managed three and barely got hit herself in the half an hour that they played. The final score was as follows:

Shisui: Three hits from Ama, two from Itachi and no nicks = 5 points

Amaterasu: One hit from Shisui, one hit from Itachi and no nicks = 2 points

Itachi: One hit from Shisui, two hits from Ama and one nick = 3 points minus three = 0 points.

It was a bizarre round, to say the least, since Amaterasu would have won had she not nicked Itachi. She used to get between 12 and 15 points on an average round, so it was perhaps a measure of her improved evasion.

On that note:

Itachi Uchiha was a bloody _iry_ ō _nin._

The silent shock emitted from the youngest of the trio was ignored as Itachi swiped a green tinted hand over his nicked arm. Under the ripped t-shirt was now undamaged skin.

Amaterasu's rounded eyes and gape was ignored for another few seconds or so before Shisui let out a chuckle.

"Unexpected, isn't it?" he asked fondly, opting to pat her head rather than ruffling it as her hair was in two tight braids now.

Amaterasu couldn't even begin to answer that. Underneath all the surprise she knew that she was low-key jealous. Healing wounds like that was so _cool_ (and scientifically impossible but she wasn't going to go there. Perhaps chakra had effects on the rate of mitosis and cell differentiation?). Ooh, she _wanted_ it.

Itachi looked faintly taken aback at the sudden hungry look in her eyes, but his own were amused.

"Don't worry, kōhai." he remarked teasingly. "I'll teach you if I ever find time."

Amaterasu huffed, rolling her eyes as she shot out a fist to hit him in the shoulder. He hissed, grabbing it and glaring balefully at her.

"Although Itachi, you have the chūnin exams in a few weeks. Medical ninjutsu shouldn't be a priority right now." Shisui stated lightly, although there was a touch of sharpness in there too. There was a short hesitation before Itachi affirmed, and Amaterasu picked up on the tension, however slight.

"I don't know, I'd say being able to heal is a big boost during tests like the Chūnin Exams." Amaterasu said, tilting her head curiously at her brother. His lips thinned slightly and he gently thwacked the back of her head with his palm.

"So is being able to go on the offensive, which you didn't do _once_ in that fight by the way." he accused, and Itachi nodded in agreement.

"You just jumped around and hid. You were inevitably going to get caught and you didn't do anything to stop that."

Amaterasu pondered just sulking - they were being awfully critical for a welcome home spar - but she rolled her eyes instead.

"Lay off me you weirdoes. I've just gotten back." she huffed, and perked as a sly thought popped into her head.

"So who's in your genin team, Itachi? You wouldn't happen to be one person short would you? Or... does one of your team not want to participate?" she asked hopefully. Shisui flicked her in the forehead and Itachi shook his head. Apparently he did lose a teammate in the war, but he had quickly been replaced. Itachi was adamant they were all very keen to participate... no matter how many times Amaterasu asked.

"You're a ways from that anyway, Ama." Shisui said firmly, eyes twinkling as she whipped her head around to stare up at him indignantly. Screw it, she _was_ going to sulk. They were being mean.

Kin huffed a laugh.

* * *

It only took a few days for Amaterasu to adjust to her new schedule and surroundings.

While she was out Shisui had moved to a cute one bedroom apartment placed conveniently close to the Uchiha training grounds and out of the way of the busy centre of the compound. She had dumped her sleeping bag down in the bedroom, only to have her brother scoff at it and throw it, along with most of her travelling equipment, into the trash. She was glad, in a way, since she had definitely shot up by at least a dozen centimeters since she had left.

They went shopping for the afternoon, buying a brand new, full-sized futon for her, with matching shuriken dotted duvet and pillow. She also bought a couple new pairs of black leggings, shorts and a new kunai pouch, as her old one had weathered over the past few years. Her t-shirts they purchased from the Uchiha tailor, who also gave her a fluffy grey scarf for free (with the Uchiha emblem in the corner, of course) as a welcome home present. Her outfit was very standard - the black or grey Uchiha shirt with the flared collar and some simple black leggings. Being around the boys so much meant she had null interest in fashion.

Feeling content at all the brand new things she could call hers, the time spent with her brother ended with a very traditional serving of strawberry flavoured shaved ice. Of course, he had to fly off after the short few hours with an apologetic crinkly smile, but it was more time than Amaterasu had expected and she was happy.

On her fourth morning back to Konoha, she arrived at a training ground to see Itachi running kenjutsu drills with a purple haired woman, Yashiro and his second-in-command Inabi watching on the side. The person she was not expecting to see was there was Arata, however. She had passed by the Uchiha orphanage on her second day back to say hello to people and she had been pleasantly surprised to see that Arata had made genin, but didn't realise he had been accepted onto an apprenticeship scheme under the Konoha Police Force as well. He seemed to be Inabi's apprentice, by the way the boy was stationed to his right.

Itachi was stopped once she arrived and swept a green tinted hand against his muscles - perhaps to remove the lactic acid buildup? She didn't know.

"I trust you understand why you are here, Amaterasu?" Yashiro asked briskly, after having waved Itachi off. He nodded at her and went to stretch under one of the trees on the edge of the clearing.

"I expect that you would like to see the results of my time away, Yashiro-san." she replied politely. The purple haired woman stiffened, presumably at the lack of the appropriate honorific "-sama", but both Yashiro and Inabi seemed to let it pass. Ama refused to use the 'Lord' title outright, despite her brother's insistence. These were the people that had resulted in their own clan's downfall by whispering into Fugaku's ear. She wasn't going to show blind respect to people with a core like that just because certain things happened differently.

"Yes. You will be tested on multiple fronts. This is Sana, a special jonin." he introduced, nodding to the purple haired woman. "She will begin your kenjutsu training and honing your bukijutsu."

"I will be overseeing your Sharingan training. We will begin with that now." Inabi continued.

They tested her by attacking in specific formations, testing every place that could be seen as a blind spot, a weakness, a hindrance - all of which a skilled use of her Kekkei Genkai would allow her to avoid. The Sharingan bit was difficult for her however. She wasn't used to keeping it on for prolonged lengths of time, or relying on it so heavily in combat. She preferred using her other senses and frequently found her eyes slipping shut in quick exchanges. It pretty much nullified the point of having the Sharingan, she grudgingly admitted as she lay panting after the first few grueling hours. The thinned, dissatisfied lips of Yashiro reflected her suspicions that they were very unimpressed with her fighting style. It was a mix of everything BUT Uchiha standard combat techniques. Sure, her katas had the base of the smooth, strong style of the clan but her flexibility meant she relied more on dodging and jabbing strategic points on the enemy body rather than blocking, redirecting blows and using heavy counters. She wasn't physically strong enough for the forceful crashing of limbs just yet.

On top of this, her speed and accuracy with weapons were average at best. She had quick reaction times, but she wasn't quite as well practiced as Shisui or Itachi in flinging around shuriken without much thought. Amaterasu was out of practice, despite having been away training for three years. Her training had been heavily focused on ninjutsu and general knowledge with Jiraiya, while the lynxes handled stealth and speed. None of which they tested, so obviously they were going to think that the time spent away from the village and clan had been a waste.

"Did you practice with your _other_ chakra?" he asked finally, and when she answered with a negative his anger showed for a full second. He breathed deeply, frustration seeping out of every pore in his body and Ama almost blanched at his raw display of emotion.

It simmered down as they passed the fire ninjutsu part of the 'Uchiha assessment'. She had three C-rank Fire ninjutsu that she was comfortable with using; the standard Fireball jutsu, the Phoenix Flower jutsu and the Dragon Flame jutsu. She was working on her first B-rank - the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, which she mentioned to the clan leader and that made him nod in approval.

"You will train with Sana on your weaponry from dawn until you meet with your genin team. As soon as your training and/or missions with them finish you will be back here, working with Sana on your kenjutsu until dinner. In the evening you will work with Inabi on developing your use of the Sharingan. I'm sure I don't need to tell you for you to know that your technique and genjutsu is atrocious at the moment."

Amaterasu shrugged, unfazed. They hadn't really tested the things that she had trained on - what else could she have expected but harsh criticism. It was good that they had seen all her weaknesses though - she was going to be working intensively on those and picking up a new skill: kenjutsu.

It was going to be fun. She expected to see drastic growth on those areas and looked forward to it.

They all left soon after her (disappointing) evaluation and she was left with Itachi, who had a rather sad look in his eyes. He came up and patted her shoulder, looking solemn and she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"It's okay Ama." he said quietly. "Once you work on it you'll get better in no time."

Amaterasu was confused. Did she look sad?

"I'm fine Itachi. They didn't test me on any of the stuff I did train on." she said cheerily, stretching out her back. "If they say the same kinda stuff at my genin evaluation tomorrow at the academy I will be disappointed. But not now. I kinda expected it."

Itachi hummed, eyeing her thoughtfully.

"I find it is usually difficult to think so logically when clan pride is involved." he said hesitantly after a pause. "I would have been quite distressed at hearing such words from Yashiro-sama." he admitted. Ama nodded, catching on in an instant.

"Talk to me about your choice of getting into medicine and everyone's reactions, I'd love to hear it." she grinned. "I'm really glad you chose to study it Itachi. I think it'll make you happy."

A small smile found its way onto Itachi's lips.

"It has." he murmured. "I am glad that you're back, Amaterasu."

Ama breathed in deeply through her nose, letting the musky scent of the earth fill her senses.

"Me too, Tachi. I'm going to invite myself over to see Mikoto and Sasu-chan. Shunshin race you there!"

She won, of course. Itachi wasted time apologising profusely to the disgruntled chūnin that she had appeared on top of. She would've felt bad, but the stink-eye he gave her was worth it.

* * *

"He's so... slow." Amaterasu mumbled, gaze faintly appalled as she watched one of her new teammates spar with her clone. She winced at the loud yell that rang out as he swung his wooden staff at her clone's head. "And really loud." she added with a deep frown. The sigh from the man next to her made her glance at him curiously. She didn't really know what he was doing, taking on a _genin_ team evaluation of all things on the side with all his other commitments. Wasn't 'Direct accomplice of the Hokage' a full time job?

Shikaku seemed to sense her questioning, slightly accusing stare and sighed again.

"Civilian background. The staff is an interesting choice for that to be the case though." Amaterasu murmured thoughtfully, an eyebrow raising at the mixture of determination and cheer in his posture. He was literally bouncing everywhere... it seemed as though he had a drive to win, but he was taking it as a game. Something fun that he wants to be good at, but wasn't particularly the end of the world if he didn't.

That... wasn't good. He was supposed to be training for a career that risked his and his teammates lives daily.

"End it soon." the jōnin next to her said quietly, staring at her meaningfully. She rolled her eyes before replacing herself with her clone. Her chakra levels boosted back to full almost immediately as her clone dispelled silently - it had barely used any chakra in the past half an hour spent sparring. Amaterasu ducked just low enough for the staff to pass over her head, eyes noting the way his abdomen was completely open to attack. It remained wide open for a full second as he shifted his stance. She sidestepped another prod with the stick, appreciating once more how his neck, side and left knee were now exposed for a one hit takedown.

In that moment, her eyes caught Shikaku's in the tree and he nodded. There was a brief pause of hesitation as Amaterasu let a further few opportunities pass until she finally shot out a palm. The small girl wrapped her hand around the bigger wrist that had been outstretched in a sloppy punch, before jerking the arm firmly downwards as she twisted him around her body, flinging him to the ground.

It was a very gentle takedown that would never be used in a real battle as it did little to the opponent except change their position. Sure enough, after a moment of disorientation and surprise at the child's first attack, the boy kicked upwards with both legs and Amaterasu was too close to dodge. She blocked, but the boy was larger and she skidded back from the force. An inconveniently placed rock on the ground caused her to trip and slam ungracefully on her back.

She groaned, mainly from embarrassment as Shikaku _coughed_ , and the boy leapt up with a loud cheer. He was panting from exertion with his hands on his knees but his sweaty face was plastered with a triumphant grin. Amaterasu closed her eyes, a deep crease between her brows.

There had been no real need for her in particular to do any attacking but it was still embarrassing and she had technically 'lost'. That _sucked_.

"Don't worry Amaterasu-chan! Shikaku-sensei said you were only eight, you're pretty alright for your age so don't look so down." The boy said cheerfully, evidently in high spirits as he helped her up, and Amaterasu spent some time observing him properly for the first time.

He presented a very plain image. Brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, a typical lanky fourteen year old build. He carried a long wooden bo staff, a kunai strap and wore a simple white t shirt with navy shorts and sandals.

Just... very ordinary. Amaterasu wasn't sure why that was weird, but it tickled something at the back of her mind.

"Are you hurt, Amaterasu-san?" came a quiet voice and Amaterasu looked up to see her other teammate. To be completely honest, Amaterasu had almost had a heart attack and fainted when she first saw him, but she managed to hold it together with a weak greeting and a gulp that they thankfully took for shyness or nervousness.

It was Kabuto. Ama had yet to properly delve into her mind and use her memories to work out how likely it was that he had had a genin team in the series and at what age he was taken in by Root. She had to think through any possibility of change with the running of the village orphanage, or Danzō, or Root - but age-wise it made sense for him to be here (if he had been normal. But he wasn't normal, and that was really quite bugging her. She needed time to _think_ ).

"She's fine, Kabuto." drawled Shikaku monotonously, eyes uninterestedly looking upwards to the sky. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to tell you what I know about your circumstances, because this group is a bit of a mop up of extras that haven't been given a proper run through yet. Hokage-sama thinks you all deserve a chance to continue your shinobi careers, and I have yet to make an opinion."

He paused, eyes swiftly dragging through each of them in the order they were seated - Kabuto, the boy and herself.

"I will make my opinion by the end of this session, and that will decide whether or not you get to remain as a genin."

Silence followed this statement, and Shikaku looked satisfied.

"Kabuto Yakushi, you graduated four years ago. You spent your time under authorised specialist training within the village, but wish to continue down the general pathway and so requested to be placed on a genin team. Chen, you graduated two years ago but you had to take a break due to domestic difficulties. Amaterasu Uchiha, you graduated three years ago and spent the time under an apprenticeship scheme due to personal reasons." he listed, and Amaterasu made sure her face remained blank and unreadable even though she was quickly whirring through the new information. Authorised specialist training was how hospital training was classified, but considering who the trainee was…what were the chances that basically spelled out ANBU? If that was the case, why did he apply to join a genin team? There was no way he could have made that decision for himself if he had been taken in by Root. Did Danzo let him go or was it a ruse? Did he even get enlisted into Root or was it just the Hokage's ANBU?

"Chen and Amaterasu, you have just sparred so you have an idea of how your opponent fights." Shikaku's slouch shifted legs, and Amaterasu narrowed her eyes slightly in focus. "So. Which one of you wants the opportunity to fight Kabuto?"

Confusion radiated from the brunette next to her as a silence stretched out.

"Um. I do? Knowledge of teammates' levels is important right?" he suggested with a light chuckle. "How else are we going to work together?"

Amaterasu stared at the older man's face as he scoffed at Chen's words. Her thoughts were speeding - what was his game?

"I do apologise." the Nara head told them. "I think you misunderstood. You guys aren't a team yet. You've just been grouped to take the test together, so all of you can fail, two of you can fail and one of you can fail."

That was a lie. At least, if things were still like in the series it was. There had been many changes to the academy curriculum and how the village was run, as well as specifics on rankings since she was last here however, so she wasn't a hundred percent sure.

She knew that teamwork was a definite factor, no matter what. Minato had used the Bell Test for that express purpose after all, and he was Hokage now so that couldn't have changed. Although, Gai didn't test his students on teamwork but endurance, if she remembered correctly. What other genin tests had there been... Amaterasu felt frustration begin to build up as she couldn't fully access all her memories. She had gotten used to just slipping in and out during the past year, as the lynxes knew what was happening. Here, however, she couldn't do it because her body would collapse and she would be completely unresponsive, which would cause questions and questions required explanations and she wasn't bothered enough to go through all that right now.

"So now it's a question of whether or not you want information on your competition. There are limited spaces and resources for Academy students, genin, chūnin and jōnin in this village, because we want quality, not quantity. So you may be comrades and you may work together during missions, but your career ultimately depends on how you fare compared to them. You want to be promoted? Go on more interesting missions, get better pay and higher clearance level? You're going to have to beat your peers for it." Shikaku continued, tone dangerously soft and it was at this point Amaterasu glanced up at him to find that he was looking at her. Inwardly, she was amused. She was famous with the higher ups for her competitive streak, and she suspected that was what Shikaku wanted to test her on. Amaterasu was sure it would have worked if she didn't know that teamwork was a value above all others in Konohagakure no Sato.

What was interesting was that she knew that the 'more interesting missions' part was toying with her supposed wishes. It was a logical conclusion too. She had a high ranking older brother who was always travelling and had amazing stories to regale her with. What little sister wouldn't want to join him on all the 'exciting' stuff? The stiffening of Chen next to her at the 'better pay' part confirmed her suspicions that Shikaku had attempted to target each one of their desires. That meant the 'higher clearance' was probably for Kabuto, which made her wonder. She had no choice but to tuck the information away for processing later however. She needed to pass this test, whatever it was.

"What happens if I say I want to fight Kabuto, too?" she asked, playing along for now.

"Then it's Kabuto's turn to choose." the Nara replied, gaze unreadable. "Do you want to fight Amaterasu, Chen, both or neither?"

Amaterasu had to fight to stop the large, predatory grin wanting to spread across her face. Shikaku Nara was smart and he was playing this like he would a board game - one piece, one bit of information at a time to push the three's mentalities right where he wanted them.

She suppressed a chuckle and attempted to still her shivering body and her buzzing chakra. This was going to be _fun_. The Uchiha stared at the grey-haired boy, who was blinking slowly and silent, but then shifted her gaze back to the Nara in front of them.

No. She wasn't aiming to beat her peers. She was aiming to beat _him._

* * *

 **Guys, I am back and I'm so sorry for the wait. Things were bad for me the past few months, my mother wasn't well. Thank you for your reviews - new readers, welcome and old readers, welcome back! Sorry that things are so so Ama focused in this chap, other things are going on but I haven't chosen to focus on that just yet. Hope you enjoyed the reunion and look forward to the next update!**

 **Thoughts on Yashiro? Inabi? Strangely familiar but not really purple haired Uchiha Sana? Do we know her? Is she an OC?**

 **And who could Chen be? Any ideas? Give it a go!**

 **Aaaand KABUTO y'all! Just kinda dropped that on ya.**

 **From RP: _As you might have gathered from this chapter, despite having trained for 3 years Ama is still very much a rookie when it comes to fighting and strategizing, although her stealth is good._**

 _ **More worryingly, she has picked up a slew of bad habits that might get her killed if she doesn't fix them, such as refusing to capitalize on the mistakes of her opponents, not using her Sharingan and closing her eyes in the middle of an exchange. Hopefully the Uchiha Boot Camp will see about fixing those.**_

 _ **As Jiraiya and Aoi mentioned, Ama has fallen prey to the worst sin possible for combat personnel: Pride. She often overestimates herself and underestimates her opponent, and promptly gets her ass kicked for it.**_

 **Things won't be so slow anymore, sorry again for the wait!**

 **Lei and RP out x**

 **PS:** A bit of a technical question - I got the fanfiction app recently and realised I received two PMs that I didn't have in my mailbox online. None of my pm chats online appear in the app. Does anyone else have this? Is it just a thing? Ta! xx


	19. Nineteen

Kabuto decided to fight neither of them and just continue with the task. Amaterasu could think of quite a few reasons why, but she shrugged it off. Shikaku nodded at his decision and then pointed behind him.

"There is a small clearing with three flags if you go through this forest in a vaguely northerly direction. Get a flag from there and return alive in the space of two hours and you pass." he said simply.

Amaterasu was immediately on guard. This was Shikaku Nara. It wasn't going to be _that_ straightforward, especially not after he hyped up the whole 'you're not a team - you're competition' thing.

On top of that, the forest that he referred to looked strangely dark and thick with vegetation. The way that he nonchalantly told them to come back alive made alarm bells start ringing in her brain. The jōnin's look didn't change from his deadpan but he was silent after that. After a few more seconds of expectant silence, the three children got the hint.

"Because we're all _fair_ and _just_ , we'll start when this flash tag goes off." Amaterasu cut in quickly, holding up a kunai before either of her two companions shot in first. They looked at her with slight apprehension before nodding, and she threw it deep into the darkness of the forest in front of them.

Amaterasu was not going to let herself or two children run headfirst into an almost pitch black forest without knowing what it vaguely looked like. Part of the reason of the flash tag was to see what the inside looked like illuminated.

What happened next had not been expected at all however.

The kunai with the flash tag must have hit something because immediately after, an explosion that let out a balloon of fire higher than the height of the trees ripped apart their sturdy trunks and shot shattered pieces of wood at the three children standing quite a way away.

Stunned silence filled the clearing as the three children processed this.

The forest was trapped. Heavily.

"Are you honestly trying to kill us?" Amaterasu asked quietly, eyes flashing in anger as her pounding heart slowed a fraction.

Shikaku had the decency to pretend to look vaguely surprised at that accusation before letting out a yawn.

"Scared?" he asked, his aloof tone spiking annoyance into Amaterasu.

A huff of air of encouragement coupled with a whizzing mop of brown hair made Ama _react_ , shooting after Chen before he killed himself.

"Chen, stop!" she yelped.

He ran straight into the forest and Ama activated her Sharingan, beginning to shuffle through hand signs but stopping soon after as she realised any fire she created for light could set off more traps. With a growl of frustration she sprinted forward, reaching for the boy in front of her.

Chen skidded to a halt with a surprised yell as she yanked forcefully on the back of his shirt, pulling him back and making him topple to the floor behind her. Her body moved in response to the familiar sound of kunai piercing through the air before she even realised it and blocked four of them coming their way. Another few thuds and a yelp from below signified that one landed close enough to Chen for him to realise what had happened.

This place was _overflowing_ with traps. It must have been used as a training exercise for trapping experts or something.

What was going on? There was no way they could get through this without getting caught in _something_ and the two they had encountered in the past minute had the capacity to have been lethal. They had barely stepped one foot into the forest! Ama certainly wasn't going to rely on Shikaku intervening to help them, _how_ did he think this was a good idea?!

When Chen shifted, she placed a firm foot on his leg and turned her head to glare down at him, daring him to move again. His chakra jumped in surprise.

"Y-your eyes." he breathed.

"Get used to it." she snarked, not particularly happy with him at that moment. Who runs blindly into _any_ unknown situation, let alone one that is known to have lethal traps?

She saw Kabuto's chakra slink in to stand behind them. His chakra was a bit wobbly with apprehension but overall it was calm, meaning that he was probably thinking through tactics.

"Right." she huffed into the stretching silence. "I have three ideas so far. What about you two?"

There was a pause.

"Aren't we meant to be, like, competing against each other?" Chen asked uncertainly, brown eyes flickering to the foot preventing him from moving.

"Do correct me if I'm wrong," she said slowly. "but am I right in assuming that we have to go in, and then back out, of this heavily trapped forest to complete this mundane task?"

Another pause.

Chen nodded.

"Then, do you think we can avoid everything in here, safely get _to_ our destination _and back_ unscathed?!" she continued in what she hoped was not too shrill of a tone.

Chen's stare turned heated and he knocked off her foot to stand up and dust himself off.

"What, you scared of a few cuts? You must not want to be a shinobi that much then! Why are you even here with that attitude?" he snapped. "I don't care what it takes! I'm going to pass this test. I have a lot hanging on this promotion and it _will_ happen."

Amaterasu was appalled. "' _A_ few cuts'?! Did you _see_ that explosion? Did you even realise that you had set off that ejector? It shoots them faster than most shinobi can throw them, which, in case you didn't know, is prettyfast and almost impossible to dodge. You think I'd be worried over a few scratches? No, I'm _worried_ for your _lives_!"

Both of them snapped their heads to stare at her at that.

"Why should it matter. We've only just met." Kabuto intoned quietly.

Amaterasu stilled.

"And we're competition." Chen murmured.

Amaterasu gave a deep sigh. "Think like that if you want, but to me, your lives mean more than any stupid test. If I have to watch children of my own village die in order to become a genin now then… I just won't be a genin."

There was a shocked silence at that statement, and it surprised Amaterasu herself how easily that came out. Whether she passed now or not didn't matter compared to the fact that they could get very hurt during this task. Okay, Kabuto caused Problems with a capital P in the series, but here he was a child. Amaterasu didn't know whether something had changed and he was actually just a combat medic hopeful or if he was still under Danzō. At this moment in time she wasn't going to let him needlessly get hurt.

"Either way it's up to you." she sighed. "I just want you to know that I will be trying to help you. I feel like if we work together we have a higher chance of completing the task than if we don't. And besides, three people passing is a very real possibility. He said there were three flags, after all."

Another contemplative silence. God, what did they have to think about? Just being in this place made her jittery and tense. She wanted the test to be over and done with.

"What are your three ideas?" Chen asked slowly.

"First, we need a way of locating the clearing. Shikaku's 'northerly direction' was useless and I wouldn't put it past him to lie. We need to map out where it is relative to us and find the shortest route there." Amaterasu explained quickly, eyes calculating. "Once we do that I have a way of getting through the traps without setting off the worst of them. Can we all just quickly state some things we can do that might be useful?"

"I'm quite good with ninjutsu, and am capable of strong Fire and Wind Release if needed. Worst comes to worst, we can bulldoze through and make a clear path towards the clearing." she explained. "On top of this I have the Sharingan, which lets me see pointy things coming at me a couple milliseconds quicker than normal so I can react faster."

She looked pointedly at them after that, and it only took a few seconds for Chen to respond.

"I can only do the ninjutsu we were taught at the academy. My taijutsu is useless here but I really like traps and weapons. If I can see them I think I could identify what type they are and maybe predict what they'll do." he supplied, looking a bit uncertain.

"That's actually really cool. I never really thought about traps." Amaterasu blinked, her first impression of the boy as a ditzy idiot may not have been 100% correct. "That'll be really useful in this scenario. Kabuto?"

"I am a medic. I can do basic ninjutsu like Chen and have an earth affinity, but I don't know how to use it very well." he said quietly.

Ama nodded, a plan formulating in her brain.

"We should adopt a straight line formation. I'll be first, Chen second and Kabuto, you have the rear." Amaterasu decided. "Thoughts on going slowly and trying to predict traps or just mowing them down with jutsu?"

Kabuto's brows furrowed immediately.

"I'm not sure about the charging with jutsu - We wouldn't know whether all the traps have been set off, so we'd have to be careful anyway. What if there are more explosions or other large scale traps? How would we know that we're out of range?" he questioned.

"Point." Ama nodded.

"I think I could see based on the type of trigger - the large explosive ones with large ranges tend to be the easiest to spot since they have really obvious characteristics, like a two twist link... They're usually used when the enemy are not expecting traps or when they have their guard down." Chen supplied, eyes brightening on the current topic. Amaterasu was impressed. "Things like potholes would be more difficult to spot though. The main problem is the low visibility in the forest." he continued.

"Potholes can be avoided if we take to the branches rather than go along the floor." Kabuto intoned, and the others agreed.

"I have better eye sight with my Sharingan so I'll try and explain what I see to you. You can keep me updated on what to look out for as well. I'm going to have to think about using some small scale fire jutsu for light, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to control it." Amaterasu said. "Any ideas for actually finding the flags?"

There was another short silence as they all continued to think.

* * *

"Well that was fast." Minato commented as he took a few seconds to take in the scene in front of him after his sudden arrival. He looked pleased at the three sitting and shooting ideas at each other on the forest floor.

"Che." Shikaku grunted from his position lounging on a branch above the Hokage. "They've been like that for the past half an hour. They're too slow, they wouldn't have that kind of time to plan on a mission."

"You and I both know that tactical speed comes with practice, familiarity and good guidance." Minato hummed. "None of which any of them have had so far."

Shikaku simply grunted once more. They were a strange bunch - a bundle of children strung together because they didn't quite fit in anywhere else. Shikaku could already see useful formations with their abilities, so he couldn't deny that their skill sets worked well together.

However, both the Nara head and the Hokage knew that Shikaku didn't have time to watch over a group of children - one only a couple of years older than his own son. The team would need to be heavily independent, and that was the main quality he was assessing.

"I'm surprised you actually came out for this." Shikaku said, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the blond.

"I have high hopes for them. I think if things work out, they will be able to help each other in ways they won't even realise." Minato murmured, blue eyes reflecting emotions so clearly to his comrade's eyes. Said blue orbs then flickered over to glare at the Nara. "I am also the only one that can help them in time if they don't realise they've walked into an A-ranked trap."

Shikaku didn't even pretend to be sheepish, instead letting a smirk rest on his face.

"I decided to be resourceful. You helpfully had me choose the next trap specialist jōnin only last week, so no use letting a fabulously trapped forest go to waste. Besides, you said one of the kids had jōnin level access to the traps section of the library." he sniped. Minato shook his head exasperatedly. He had expected the Nara to wonder why Chen was chosen for this particular team. The other two were easily genin level, with some chūnin level abilities. Chen on the other hand didn't seem like much on paper. He didn't reply to Shikaku's unspoken question, instead gazing at the trio on the floor who were getting up.

"Looks like they're ready to move." he mumbled, thumbing a few of his kunai in preparation.

The trio moved slowly at first, and decided to pick upwards as their first direction. Amaterasu called out observations and Chen promptly replied with his advice. Kabuto was mostly silent, chipping in if he noticed something that the two in front of him didn't. He also made sure to step exactly where they had stepped, understanding the importance of not springing any traps from behind that they were not prepared for.

It was when Chen displayed knowledge of how to safely disable a four tier wire trap that Shikaku straightened from his usual slouch, eyes sharpening in interest.

"Now where did you find this one?" he breathed to Minato, watching as the group finally reached the top canopy of the forest. The four tier wire trap was one that was incredibly difficult to identify, usually requiring a trained Sharingan to distinguish it from a standard wire activated trap. When set off, it trapped the victim's limbs with highly strung wires that cut into each other in a specific way until they were unable to move. The wire was a very thin, fine and sharp kind, made particularly for this use. Highly skilled shinobi could manipulate the trap from the shadows to even sever heads with this method. A common misconception was that trying to snap or cut the wires would disable the trap. This didn't work due to the layering nature of the trap, so the fact that Chen took time to loosen each layer of the four tiers showed a deep understanding of this high level technique.

"I'm seeing him in action for the first time too." the blond Hokage mumbled. "Very impressive."

The two watched as Amaterasu disappeared above the canopy, her companions waiting below. She returned not too long after before pointing in a certain direction.

"It's not far. A hundred meters or so I'd say. Let's stay at this level of the forest, and once you give me the clear I'll use a destructive jutsu like we decided." she said quickly.

"Two more kunai ejectors with the same trigger around five meters front left, and ah, that's definitely an explosive tag on that tree directly in front of us." Chen listed, eyes narrowing in concentration.

"I see another seal?" Ama asked. She frowned, squinting her eyes. "I don't think that's an explosive tag."

Kabuto placed his hands in a seal and a pulse of chakra later he shook his head.

"I can see an explosive tag but I can't dispel the genjutsu, if there is one." he supplied.

"Probably because if it's genjutsu we're in the area that the genjutsu tags enclose. How come you can't see the explosive tag?" Chen questioned Amaterasu. She simply tapped her red eyes.

"I can see through genjutsu. I can see a slight disturbance in your ocular chakra pathways, so the chances of there being a genjutsu is quite high. What's the use of a genjutsu that shows an explosive tag that isn't there?" she asked.

Minato suspected she already had quite a few answers to that herself, but appreciated the way she was trying to keep up conversation.

"Trying to move our focus away from something more important?" Kabuto suggested.

"Most likely." Chen agreed, furrowing his brows. "Amaterasu, can you see anything else worth noting?"

Ama was silent for a while, surveying the area in front of them carefully.

"The kunai ejectors Chen pointed out are actually there, but they're a bit closer than he said - around two meters. There is a tag of some sort hanging on the end of that branch bu- hang on. I think I can just about make out the kanji for -"

She paused, shutting her eyes with a grimace. Shikaku raised an brow at Minato at this, and he nodded back once.

"You alright?" Chen asked with a worried frown. He switched places with Kabuto, who reached out a chakra covered hand towards her face. A moment before he made contact his wrist was grasped in a tight, warning grip. Amaterasu's eyes opened to reveal moderately bloodshot eyes that had returned to their onyx form. She glanced at the chakra covered hand before locking her eyes with the silver haired boy. Her stare was not friendly, Minato noted curiously.

She didn't trust him.

"Sorry, I'm not used to using my eyes for so long." she explained, quickly switching her expression to a breezy smile, but she did not ease the pressure on Kabuto's wrist. "I do appreciate your sentiment but Uchiha are quite sensitive around here." she added gesturing to her eyes with a supposedly light hearted tone.

Kabuto's apology and reassuring smile was just as transparent, the hand hovering around his kunai pouch speaking volumes.

"What kanji did you see, Amaterasu?" Chen asked, evidently trying to dispel whatever tension that had been created in the last few seconds. Amaterasu lowered Kabuto's arm before letting go and he returned to his original spot behind Chen.

"It was some kind of storage seal I think. I thought I saw something to do with earth on it but there were elements of explosion scattered in it too." she murmured thoughtfully.

"You know fuinjutsu?" Chen exclaimed, eyebrows raised. Amaterasu jumped as if shocked by electricity.

"No no, not at all." she denied vehemently. "I used to do some calligraphy so I'm just guessing here haha.." she trailed off awkwardly.

"The explosion bit doesn't sound good, particularly if it was scattered. It's probably a back up mechanism." Chen mumbled, nodding to himself. "What worries me is that we don't know its trigger. If it's a genjutsu that shows an explosive tag instead of that seal, chances are that it's probably not activated by touch."

"They'd want us to avoid it, maybe make us go around." Kabuto continued. Amaterasu's brows furrowed.

"But the explosion back up mechanism… if it is one, it would probably go off if we touched it, to help make the genjutsu more realistic." she sighed. Her onyx eyes took on a steely light as her hands formed a two fingered cross. "Either way, we can speculate all we want but we'll never know for sure. I suggest we get as far away as possible from here. I'll use clones to clear this area."

Minato was a bit tense, pitching forward. If he wasn't mistaken, that seal was... Catching Shikaku's warning gaze he sat back down.

A Kage Bunshin puffed into existence, and the three children carefully made their way back down to ground level. They looked up at the clones warily, who flicked through hand signs.

'Fūton: Reppūshō'

'Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu'

The techniques fed into each other and the resulting fire was enormous, forcing Minato and Shikaku to flicker out of the way. It quite literally burned through the forest, clearing a path of traps for around fifty or so meters. The fire roared from the clone's mouth for a good ten seconds before it stopped, and Minato could feel the intensity of the heat wave hitting him even though he was positioned behind the attack. He scoured the ground to find the trio, only to find that they were nowhere to be seen.

The clone that performed the fire jutsu disappeared while the other one remained to to clear out the smoke fogging up the forest. Immediately after that second one dispelled, Chen's head exploded from the ground, said boy coughing and spluttering and on the verge of panicking. Both Amaterasu and Kabuto slid out next to him, gasping for breath before they each took one of their teammate's hands to drag him out of the forest floor.

That was very quick thinking on their parts. Minato felt the corner of his lip quirk up at the surprise on Shikaku's face.

"Third chakra nature manipulation from Amaterasu and a first from Kabuto." he mumbled with a tired huff. "This team is going to be such a drag."

"I'm so sorry." Ama huffed, shaking dirt off her shirt and spitting some out. "I didn't think it'd be that strong."

"What was that!?" Chen wheezed, frantically pointing at the to the two of them in between coughs. "You - and then your clone - and _you_ and the ground, we were - what?"

"Are either of you burned?" Kabuto asked, considerably calmer than his companion.

"Chen's arm." Ama noticed immediately with a frown, grabbing his wrist to get a closer look. "I'd say that's a second degree burn. It's blistering. We need cold water to clean out all that dirt."

"That's fine. I can deal with it - it'll take a few minutes though." Kabuto replied, gently surveying the burn for himself.

While they were focusing on the burn, neither took note of the fact that Chen's face had suddenly drained of colour, eyes locked on something behind them.

"Guys. We need to move." he whispered.

"Hmm?" Amaterasu asked, before she turned to see what had gotten him so spooked. The tag she had identified before her jutsu combo had fallen down to rest on the ground a few meters from where they were, fully intact despite being at the heart of the roaring fire jutsu. The branch it had been hanging from was charred and smoking, yet the seal itself looked perfectly fine.

What Chen was worried about however, was the fact that it was glowing eerily.

"Run through the path to the flags _now_!" Amaterasu ordered, grabbing Chen's good arm with one hand and the back of Kabuto's t-shirt in the order and tugging on them to get them to move.

They sprinted, and Minato saw the tag activate just a moment later, shooting scrolls in all directions. The release of the scrolls unrolled them in mid air, and glancing at the formulas written on the insides made him tap his companion.

"We should probably move too." he mumbled, blue eyes flashing in amusement. "Your next job is to find a team to clear up this training ground, Nara."

They disappeared, and immediately after the multiple water storage scrolls activated, sending a flood of water amounting to that of a small lake roaring through the forest.

* * *

Shikaku surveyed the very disgruntled looking team in front of him. Two of them looked like they had taken a thorough bath in mud, while the other had a nasty burn on his arm and only had his bottom half drenched in the brown flood. They were all grasping flags.

"Well, this was unexpected." he drawled, heaving a long sigh. "Glad to see you're all alive."

"We all pass, right? Can we go now?" Chen croaked, face ashen and expression traumatised.

"Ah. Do you all pass?" Shikaku asked blandly, pointedly staring at the small Uchiha girl smiling sheepishly in the middle. She sighed before shrugging apologetically, dispelling the Yin Release jutsu she had cast during the mad rush to the flags. There had actually only been two flags, but she made it look like there were three.

The flag in her hands dissolved, making her companions realise that they were holding the real flags.

"Wait...what? Why?" voiced Chen after a silence. Amaterasu chuckled, scratching the back of her head.

"We needed to keep working together to make it out safely." she said simply. "That flood needed all our attention, and I didn't want us to be distracted by what only two flags meant."

There was a shocked silence as this sank in.

"Because it's not fair that she alone chose the rest of you to have the flags and to pass, I'm giving you five minutes to change her decision if you would like." Shikaku intoned. "One person out of the five that took this test have passed already, so the two of you that pass today will be joining them to make a three man team. Make your decisions."

The cold realisation hit Chen the hardest out of the three, his brows furrowing in thought as he stared at the flag grasped in his hands. The clearing was in silence for a good minute as he decided, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He finally jerked out an arm, head turned to face the other way.

Amaterasu blinked in genuine surprise at the flag shoved into her face.

"Chen, no." she said gently. "I don't mind going back to the academy. I'm still a lot younger than the two of you and I can still learn things and try again next year. Besides, your knowledge on traps was what got us through the whole thing."

"No." he replied gruffly. "Without your eyes and ninjutsu, I would have had no chance. Heck, I would've been impaled by the kunai from the kunai ejector had you not helped at the very beginning. You cared about your competitors as people, while all I wanted to do was pass for myself and my own reasons - despite all that was at stake. We could've gotten really hurt."

The brown eyed boy turned his look on Kabuto, who was frowning.

"You pulled me and Amaterasu underground as soon as you realised the fire was going to reach us, and you were willing to waste chakra healing my burn despite not knowing what you'd need it for later in the test. Both of you are insanely talented and you must have worked so hard to get to this point." he continued. "Don't take this as acceptance that you'll be better than me forever though! I haven't been training as a shinobi for a while - I'll go spend a year in the academy, become genin and come back to kick your asses, just you wait!"

Amaterasu's face was appalled. Shikaku could see how much she was touched by his words - she was at a loss for words. He watched as Kabuto gently threw his flag onto the ground in front of them.

"I did nothing useful throughout this whole test. The only reason I made it was because of the other two. I had no purpose." the grey-haired boy stated, looking at Shikaku. "I think I need to reevaluate what being a genin means. I didn't understand why only a small percentage of students were allowed to become genin, but I think I know now. I would like time to rethink whether I am ready for a genin team."

"What are your decisions?" Shikaku asked, faking annoyance. "I only need two of you."

Chen wrapped Amaterasu's hand around his flag, but his eyes were watering. Shikaku could see how much it pained him, and it made him wonder why he had to take a break when he was so passionate about becoming a shinobi.

A moment of silence passed before Amaterasu threw the flag on top of the other one that was on the floor.

"You're going to have to find another two kids." the Uchiha said simply, reaching out and holding the hands of the two boys on either side of her. "I've just decided I want to be a team with these guys, even if it does take another year."

Shikaku groaned out loud, throwing his head back in a dramatic tirade.

"Minato, this is all your fault. I don't have time for this." the Nara moaned, and a dry chuckle made the trio turn to see the Fourth Hokage walking towards them. He ruffled the boys' hair and fondly rested his hand on Ama's head.

"You have all made me very proud." he beamed, blue eyes twinkling. "I officially declare this as the first day of Team 9. Congratulations on becoming genin."

Three new black headbands were presented to them, and a wide grin spread across Ama's face.

"Gosh, I really believed you for a second." she huffed, pointing accusingly at Shikaku. A sniff made her stare turn to Chen, who had tears running down his face as he stared at the Hokage. She shared a worried glance with Kabuto, who looked conflicted at the sudden change in the situation before launching at the boys to force them into a hug.

"We're going to be amazing." she mumbled, smiling brightly at the two of them and releasing them as soon as Shikaku cleared his throat.

"Team Nine is _officially_ lead by me, but I am a busy person. You will meet every morning here on training ground nine, either to train or do a mission and then you can go off and do whatever with the rest of your time." Shikaku drawled. "I am technically your sensei, so I guess you can find me if you want advice with training or whatever."

"See ya." he intoned, and Minato gave them a final pat before they both disappeared. They both naturally appeared on a tree that provided a clear view of the trio however.

Amaterasu let out a groan, being the first to flop onto her back with a wet, muddy squelch. Chen followed with a huff soon after, choosing to land on his side due to the nasty burn he received on his arm. Kabuto simply folded his legs silently and sat in a heap, some hardened mud audibly crumbling. They were all exhausted.

"Right team." Amaterasu mumbled weakly. "I propose nap time."

There was no objection, and Shikaku thought he could come to like this team.

* * *

Amaterasu couldn't actually stay there for a nap, no matter how much she wanted to. The evaluation took longer than she thought so she had to leave, pop home for a quick shower, grab the rice balls in the fridge for a quick lunch and get to her first kenjutsu session for the afternoon.

On her way there she reached out telepathically to Kin, who had been watching but had not shown himself. He congratulated her on becoming genin and said that he would think about Kabuto, reminding her that they had a meditation session after her Uchiha training finished this afternoon. He had found a good spot that had a relatively high concentration of natural energy. She agreed to meet him there and left him to hunt for the day, reminding him to _please_ not eat any of the Nara's deer.

Amaterasu received a sense of déjà vu as she appeared in the Uchiha main training ground to find Itachi running drills with the purple haired woman - Sana, if she remembered correctly?

"Afternoon, Sana-san, Itachi." she greeted, slightly out of breath. Itachi nodded at her, bowed to Sana and went to meditate under the tree again.

Sana presented her with a wooden sword. It was quite heavy, and would take some getting used to.

"This is your first time holding a sword, I can see." Sana stated blandly, arching a displeased purple brow at her. "Ready position." she barked.

Amaterasu blanched, racking her brain for an image of Shisui or Itachi wielding katanas. She shifted her right hand further up the handle, her left slightly lower and stood with her back straight, legs wide and slightly bent.

Sana narrowed her eyes. With her own wooden sword she thwacked the side of Ama's arm with such speed that the little Uchiha couldn't dodge. The blow connected and pain bloomed – that was definitely going to bruise.

"Ready." Sana repeated, and Amaterasu frowned. So this was how she was going to teach, she thought, determinedly gripping her katana tighter and focusing. When Sana moved, Amaterasu stepped backwards to give her time to try and block her blow. At the last moment, Sana maneuvered her katana so that it twisted and connected with her other elbow. Ama hissed in pain, eyes flashing in annoyance.

"Ready."

This time Sana hit her thigh. Amaterasu's movements were awkward and slow - mainly because she hadn't learnt any footwork for kenjutsu. She thought it was quite a kata based ordeal, so why was this woman not teaching her any kata?

"Ready." the purple haired woman intoned again.

By the end of the session (a good few hours, which felt like days), Amaterasu was aching and bruised everywhere, hungry, and really tempted to hit her teacher. Amaterasu tried activating her Sharingan at some point to see if it would help, but received three consecutive whacks for that effort which made the message clear - no Sharingan allowed. Sana Uchiha was a woman of very little words. She hadn't taught Amaterasu anything, and yet was expecting her to move fluidly enough to block. Usually the sparring came after the kata learning. Amaterasu was frustrated and confused when she finally bowed goodbye to Sana and made her way back home. By that point Itachi had left, so she walked alone, deep in thought.

Upon returning home, Shisui was just coming out of the kitchen. She raised a hand to wave and received a quick hug in greeting.

"We have no food so let's eat out." he suggested. Amaterasu checked the clock to find that she only had around ten minutes till her evening Sharingan training was scheduled to begin.

"I have ten minutes. I'll just run over to a stall and grab something." she mumbled disappointedly, wanting to spend a rare opportunity to have dinner with her brother. Shisui patted her head and walked out.

"I'll come with you."

They took to the roofs, finding a premade udon and tempura shop. Amaterasu gulped it down, not having enough time to fill her stomach, before running off to the specified training ground. She was hungry enough to chew on a gross ration bar on the way.

Inabi Uchiha was a scary looking man. He had beady eyes, long brown hair and a constant frown on his face. He greeted her by appearing in front of her and swinging a quick fist at her face.

She ducked on instinct, slamming her elbow into his stomach, except it was no longer there. She flipped to gain distance, activating her Sharingan in response to his own activation. Suddenly, three other Uchiha walked out into the clearing, all holding scrolls.

"Your task for today is to stay in the marked area for fifteen minutes." Inabi declared, and the three Uchiha unsealed the weapons stored inside. They were just large supplies of shuriken and kunai... but they were very real. Amaterasu gulped, eyeing the marked out area nervously. It was marked out by four trees in the corners and wire wrapped around them to form a 10 meter square.

"Take your positions." he barked, and Amaterasu slowly made her way to the middle of the square, kunai in hand and Sharingan activated. The four Uchiha took their places on each side of the square.

Amaterasu blinked rapidly to try and get rid of the slight burning in her eyes from overuse and felt the beginning symptoms of chakra exhaustion in the form of a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Oh how she had missed the Uchiha style of training.

Not.

* * *

 **Hello everybody, thank you to everyone asking about my mother, you are all very sweet. She's not getting better or worse, and I am learning to deal with it. Thank you for your thoughts.**

 **A few points:**

 **1) Kabuto : From the way he's acting... Root, or no root? Orochimaru, or not yet? Just a combat medic hopeful?**

 **2) Chen! : He is related to someone that we know. Any guesses?**

 **3) Poor Amaterasu has had a _very_ packed day. Will she be able to deal? Being an Uchiha jinchuriki comes with high expectations and pushy clan.**

 **It's very Ama focused right now, but do bear with me. The world did go on without her, believe it or not, and more of this will be shown soon.**

 **Thanks for reading! See you next time~**

 **Lei xx**


	20. Twenty

An infuriated growl and a heavy thump echoed throughout the Uchiha clan head's study. Inabi stood stiffly in front of Yashiro, shielding his young apprentice from the man's frustration.

"Arata. Dismissed." he ordered, and the genin scuttled away. The second the door shut Yashiro kicked his chair, making it fly across the room before smashing into pieces after colliding with the wall.

"Two, almost _three years_ , spent 'training' and look at the state she's in. It's _despicable._ " he snarled, an agitated Sharingan flashing in the dim candlelit room. "They've ground down the weapon until she's nothing but a useless stump. Did you see her bukijutsu? Barely the level of a chūnin. The basics aren't there. _Useless._ Even worse than that so-called genius Itachi, a _medic_ of all things - Fugaku must be turning in his grave."

"There have been rumors of Jiraiya-sama being in the village in the past year... but no sighting of Amaterasu, which is strange." Inabi murmured. Yashiro scowled.

"She was obviously not a priority then. She was sent to play with _toads._ " he hissed. "They did this on purpose."

"We have another six months until the plan is set to take action." Inabi murmured.

"It won't be enough." Yashiro shot back, his fist curling as he shook from barely suppressed anger. "How disgustingly **embarrassing**. They _lied._ They said they would train the jinchuriki as what she is - a jinchuriki, and she still doesn't know how to access any of that power!"

"Jiraiya-sama's report showed that she is too young - "

"Bullshit. You saw Cloud's jinchuriki. Mastery like that doesn't come from anything less than early exposure. They just didn't want a trained jinchuriki under our clan name. They don't trust us, it's a blatant facade and we fell for it. Danzo was right." his clan leader continued, brows drawn tightly together.

There was a tense silence, and Inabi let it run for a minute before walking over to rearrange the mess of paperwork on his leader's desk.

"Ah. She met her genin team today." he said thoughtfully as he flicked through their profiles. Yashiro's eyes flicked to stare, before he huffed a breath out through his nose.

"Shikaku Nara? Could Minato be any more obvious? He's sinking his claws as deep as he can into the potential powerhouse." he scoffed. "Some no name orphan who's had a two year break doing nothing shinobi related, and another orphan with a four year medical stint. Neither are frontal attackers, and neither will push the girl in the way she needs to be pushed."

Inabi said nothing.

"This generation has so much potential and it is all being wasted. This is our time to rise and take our rightful place at the head of the village, and yet our key pieces are being nullified as we speak. The only one I can call useable at this point is Shisui, but even then his loyalty is not cemented - he had that apprenticeship with Shikaku and all he seems to care about is his sister." the leader sighed as he finished his rant, irises returning to a cold, calculating black.

"The answer to it all is having the girl under control. Then we'll have everything." Inabi completed the thought with a slow nod.

Yashiro rubbed his face in his hands.

"Arrange a meeting with Danzo. We need to sort this girl out of the mess the Hokage's twisted her into before it's irreversible. Brief Sana on the goals she needs to reach with her bukijutsu or she can say bye to her tokubetsu jōnin promotion."

The girl was _theirs_.

* * *

Onyx eyes flew open with a startled gasp. The sunlight streaming through her window made her jump out of bed and flit to the bathroom, reach for her toothbrush and simultaneously attempt to splash water across her face. She then proceeded to stop, lather her toothbrush with toothpaste, and resume scrubbing her face while brushing her teeth.

It was only after those panicked few minutes that the aches her body was currently suffering registered in her brain, and she did not try to stop a pained groan from escaping.

Amaterasu was late however, so after changing and shoving her hair into a makeshift ponytail she sprinted to the Uchiha training grounds without properly stretching out the stiffness from the lactic acid buildup that resulted from the workout last night.

She realised with an increasing sense of dread that when Sana had stated that she would see her at dawn, she probably didn't mean "when the sun has been up for an hour".

Amaterasu was strangely nervous. She loathed being late in general - she had always lived with the idea that being on time meant she was behind schedule. Tardiness was a quality she detested in any person, but for some reason she had overslept today. It wasn't Sana's punishment that she dreaded exactly, but more like Sana's opinion of her and her reputation as a professional. No matter how many times you were on time or early, being late once meant your reputation immediately went from 'reliable' to 'not reliable'.

It was worse because Sana had had only one session with her so far. Gritting her teeth at how much she hated herself for this situation, she arrived at the training ground breathing heavily and sunk in a low bow from the waist.

The purple haired woman was there, meditating on a crouch balanced on the handle of her katana which was stuck into the ground. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth opened to speak after the sounds of Amaterasu's heavy breathing had died down a bit.

"I did not understand why Yashiro-taichō ordered me to help you practice your bukijutsu. You are recognised as an adult within the clan as you have mastered the Great Fireball jutsu and have activated your Sharingan, and you are recognised by the village as an adult as you wear that headband." she stated quietly, her coal black eyes opening to survey the younger Uchiha coldly. "Evidently these are not accurate measures of your competence."

Amaterasu refrained from wincing, her form still bent into an apologetic bow.

"You have received such special treatment from both the clan and the village, it seems inevitable that you believe you are entitled to it and that rules do not apply to you." she continued in her hauntingly blank voice. "It will do you good to remember that all your worth has been decided by our clan head. You are nothing but an asset to the clan, something that can be used to promote the clan's name and status. This is your goal and your fate, and if you are not the strongest in your cohort, you will be discarded for the one who is. It has been seen throughout previous generations that the ones who began starved ended up crushing the ones who were fed plentifully from the start."

Amaterasu slowly rose from her bow, her brows furrowing together at her senior's words.

"I apologise for my tardiness." she said simply. Sana smoothly stood from her crouch on her katana, her blade sinking down into the earth from her weight until she took a small graceful step onto the ground. She reached into her pouch before flicking her wrist. In the next moment, four thuds were heard as shuriken embedded themselves in the four targets pinned onto the trunks of trees surrounding them. Amaterasu memorised the position of the targets and Sana's ending position, understanding from her previous training with Shisui that it was more important to note than the actual motion of throwing them.

"I have been ordered to train you in bukijutsu and kenjutsu. Our bukijutsu sessions will involve me performing a sequence, and you practicing the maneuver until you succeed in performing it ten times consecutively. You will be shown five maneuvers each session, and you will not be able to leave until you have mastered them all." she intoned frostily, before stepping aside.

'Ah shit'. Amaterasu had a meeting with her new genin team in a couple of hours. She reached into her pouch, eyeing the targets in front of her carefully. She was thankful for all the 'fun' training sessions she had had with both Shisui and Itachi, the latter of whom had a particular love for shuriken jutsu.

It made the current array of targets look like a piece of cake, even though she was probably a little rusty. Amaterasu really was sorry for making Sana wait for so long, but the older Uchiha's pretty speech made a couple of things clear to her.

Sana did not like Amaterasu, at all. She saw an entitled, arrogant kid who has not had to put any independent work in as all her core skills had been fed to her from the start of her training.

The analogy that sprung to mind was the comparison between the efforts of a private school child with rich parents who could afford to stick tutors on their child 24/7, and a state school kid who carved their success from their own proactivity and effort.

Perhaps Sana had originally been written off and 'worked hard' to get to where she was. Quite frankly, Amaterasu didn't care. Her new sensei's views on how everything they did was for the clan was interesting, and a rather fresh perspective... but not surprising.

Amaterasu had a bit of a revelation as she stood, thumbing the shuriken in her small, fairly calloused hands. She was not going to be brainwashed like that any time soon, and neither were her two closest Uchiha since she had spent so much time talking with them on how they were their own person and how they shouldn't let their identity consist of just being part of a clan.

However, she highly suspected that most of the rest of the clan believed what Sana believed, and Ama wasn't sure exactly how bad that was. How was the clan perceived right now to the rest of the village? After the changed Kyūbi event, along with a publicly acknowledged Uchiha jinchuriki... what exactly was their new reputation? She hoped it was more favourable than what it was in canon, but she could see the possibility of the Uchiha now being more... feared than hated.

She needed to investigate this.

Amaterasu blinked her way out of her thoughts as the purple haired woman showed another maneouver. After the long speech, any respect for that woman disappeared completely. Sana had already conjured up plenty of assumptions of what Ama was like by herself, the girl having had no chance of making her own impression. For now, Sana would teach, and Amaterasu would learn. Any amicable relationship seemed rather unlikely.

She'd let her believe what she wanted.

Amaterasu let the first set of shuriken fly.

* * *

Shisui found himself leaning against the doorway to the bedroom only a moment after the front door creaked.

"Since when did you spend three nights elsewhere without telling me?" he asked with a deep frown.

His little sister slowly trudged inside after locking the door, eyes half closed and clothes dirty and rumpled.

"I found out from Itachi that you were crashing with him only this morning - that's two days with me not hearing from you. Why didn't you come home?" he continued, brows furrowing further as she sighed.

"M'sorry. Night." she mumbled before stumbling past him into the room and slumping, splayed out onto her futon. Shisui felt the urge to nag swell before he swallowed it down, eyeing the tired bags under her eyes. Catching sight of the position of the moon made him realise it was almost morning. He almost, _almost_ leapt at the shadow slinking towards his sister but refrained at the last second, realising it was Kin. His pale golden eyes glowed eerily in the dark as he curled protectively around the already sleeping child, giving a concerned lick to a cut on her cheek before huffing and settling his large head down on the floor right next to her ear.

His appearance brought up what Amaterasu had said to him and Itachi during their first meeting after she got back, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

* * *

 _Amaterasu's form relaxed as her laughter died down, but her face sobered into a serious expression soon after._

 _"I'm really glad you guys get along well with Kin, but I'm going to have to take your word that you won't tell anyone he exists." she said quietly, staring at each of them in turn._

 _There was a slight pause at her grave tone before Itachi voiced the conclusion Shisui had also reached._

 _"You don't want the clan to know about your summoning contract."_

 _Amaterasu nodded once in confirmation, and unease spread. Hiding things from the clan was... wrong, and this was a helpful technique. If Kin was from a clan then they could form human-animal clan interactions that could benefit the Uchiha for generations to come._

 _"Why?" he asked his sister bluntly, and her face shadowed._

 _"Yashiro won't trust the village if they knew I had been left with the lynx for a year."_

 _Shisui's eyes narrowed._

 _"We were told that you were with Jiraiya-sama's summons to keep you safe from Kumogakure's ambush squad and would be training there until Jiraiya-sama got better." Itachi murmured, his own eyes flashing._

 _Amaterasu winced, sharing a look with Kin._

 _"Minato said that to stop you from worrying but I'm going to tell you the truth now." she said slowly. "I would've contacted you earlier but I wasn't well."_

 _"Talk, Amaterasu." her brother said calmly, but his hand twitched._

 _Amaterasu talked._

* * *

Shisui sighed as he crouched by her form, laying a palm on her head under Kin's watchful eye. Her steady breathing calmed him, and he silently prayed promises to their parents - that he would keep her safe, that he would let her live a free life... but something inside him twinged as he realised that he was failing - no. He had _already_ failed his word.

The girl he had almost died trying to protect hadn't actually been his sister. It had been a Kage Bunshin. And the reports of an unknown third party shinobi group having gone after two of the squads and disabling most of them - that had been her as well. On top of that she escaped a critical situation by herself, and came out of it alive, stronger, and with a new summoning contract.

It took a while for all of that to sink in, but he was a bit confused as to why it was bothering him so.

All his life he had seen her as a child. She was his precious, baby sister that he had observed and tried to understand by shadowing for a while. She had been so small, fragile, completely in her own world and completely clueless. After killing so many humans, Shisui's view of the human life was one that was so painfully easy to end. His eyes were drawn to a body's vital points, the weaknesses in their stances, all forty two or so openings and different ways to attack - even in casual conversation, and he hated it. It made keeping up small talk difficult as the openings kept nagging at him, and he never felt safe after taking part in the war - not even in the village, nor in his own house.

The 13 year old was able to get by simply by reminding himself that every person he cut down would not be able to get back up and harm his sister.

It was weird to think that he might not have to do that, and to realise that Amaterasu perhaps wasn't as fragile as she once was. The current problem he was trying to protect Amaterasu from wasn't anything to do with combat however. Shisui didn't know what was more dangerous to Amaterasu: the clan, or the village. He didn't know which one would end up using her and then throwing her away - at this point in time what he knew was that they were fighting for control over her.

To use her for what, he didn't know either. He also didn't know which one would be the better option for her.

He was most curious about why Amaterasu was hiding things from the clan though.

Shisui had been instructed by his clan head to ask Shikaku whether he could supervise some of their training sessions, and even some of their missions if possible. He was tasked with talking to her about their clan, and he was to remind her of the fact that they were Uchiha above all else. The Uchiha boy was also given a written list of attributes that Amaterasu had to improve on by the end of the month so that she was on schedule.

Schedule for _what_ exactly, he wasn't sure, but he knew the village didn't know about this 'schedule'. He had never known what caused the the interest she received from the current Hokage, but he understood how she was a key playing piece as a jinchūriki in both their politics. The only time he had been thankful of their interest was when it meant she was exempt from having to take part in the war. Peacetime seemed worse for her in a way, since now the higher-ups had more time and energy to focus on her, and that attention came with pressure and burden - both of which were definitely taking their toll.

This was his baby sister. She housed something enormously powerful beyond imagination, but she was still small and fragile.

Watching her slit someone's throat only a few days after having this thought was a jarring experience, and in that moment his insides had clenched uncomfortably like they had been frozen over.

Shisui knew that she was supposed to be capable, but deep down, that never really registered. Amaterasu would always be that child that hadn't even realised a lightning chakra charged kunai had been shooting at her in his mind.

She had spent over a year travelling the world and learning as a disciple of Jiraiya of the Sannin, had trained in the summoning realm, and her scarily sharp intellect never ceased to amaze adults.

But the ease and grace with which she slipped past the grown man's guard and skillfully flicked her wrist with the minimum effort required to properly harm someone really shocked him.

There had not been even a _flicker_ of hesitation.

This was her team's first mission out of the village, and he had offered to go with them to supervise. Except - none of them knew that. Shisui had stayed behind them, shadowing their movements and noting the good and bad points of their teamwork to report back to Shikaku and do some scoping out for himself as well.

It had only been the second day of travelling when they were ambushed by a group of bandits. Shisui was not surprised that this happened, since Amaterasu's chosen route included the particular stretch of road that was notoriously known to be targeted by gangs. The Uchiha boy felt a wash of relief that he was here for them, tensing his muscles to spring into action when he saw Amaterasu shoot past.

She had immediately taken centre, Sharingan spinning as she positioned herself in front of both her teammates. The unclear number of bandits scattered in the forest must have alarmed her and Shisui couldn't help but let out a disapproving frown as she reacted immediately, rushing to meet the first one that came charging towards them.

Within a second he lay on the floor bleeding out from a nicked carotid artery, having lost consciousness immediately. Shisui knew it would take him up to an hour to die however, although he wasn't entirely sure at that point whether it was done like that on purpose.

Her second, third, and fourth victims were hit with rapid barrages of shuriken, woven in complex patterns and sequences so the end target was not clear. Any shinobi with decent training could have dodged or intercepted, but low class bandits had no chance. The weapons thudded into joints, hands and big muscle groups like the thigh or sliced through hamstrings and the side of the abdomen in a swift, brutally calculative manner. Howls of pain and expletives filled the area, silenced soon after one by one as she flickered to each one to knock them unconscious. A certain startled yell and a thud caused Amaterasu to jerk backwards in an instinctual response.

Her body moved on autopilot to fling several more kunai at the towering form clutching an axe looming over her brown haired teammate and the large man scrambled backwards in a clumsy dodge. In the next moment Amaterasu was onto him, engaging him in a flurry of taijutsu to increase distance between them and her teammate. Once she deemed them a safe enough distance, she flipped backwards off a muscled punch, using the force to leverage her up high as she shifted through handsigns. A brief burst of wind natured chakra later and the man was unconscious at the base of a tree trunk.

There were nine bandits in total, Shisui noted, slightly stunned at the number of grown men that had been floored by his nine year old sister in such a short time. Sure, they had been untrained in the shinobi arts but some of them held rusted, crude looking axes or daggers, and were heavily muscled. Amaterasu didn't seem to be fazed, disarming another by flinging him by the wrist with a sharp maneouver to the ground, using his own momentum and weight against him. Said wrist was consequently snapped and the dagger skidded away. She finished him with a harsh heel kick to the temple, making it her sixth takedown. She moved with precise and firm movements, but her eyes were glazed. Shisui suspected it was because she was tired, but her body was moving and reacting from a mix of adrenaline, muscle memory and instinct.

Her other teammate had disabled the other three, using Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique on one and completely severing through the Achilles heels of another with a kunai. The final one came up behind him to put him in a headlock, but ended up holding a log as the boy performed the replacement technique. Amaterasu put the confused bandit completely out of commission by slamming the butt of a kunai into his temple while Kabuto walked out from behind a tree not far away.

"Everyone alright?" she asked after checking that she hadn't missed any with a quick scan of her surroundings with their Kekkei Genkai. Shisui caught how his sister glanced at his hiding spot for a fraction of a second longer before moving on. She then passed her gaze over her teammates with a brief lookover before nodding, satisfied with their conditions. A simple two fingered cross signalled her next move and three more copies of herself puffed into existence. At this point the real Amaterasu yawned, stretching and shaking her head dazedly with a huff while her clones knocked out the remaining conscious ones and began dragging the bandits together and roping them around a tree. Ama brought out a battered D-class bingo book from a storage scroll in her pouch and scanned through it thoughtfully.

The silence in the clearing was stifling but the young Uchiha didn't seemed to notice, mumbling to herself as she tapped her foot.

"Kabuto, could you seal up their wounds please so they don't bleed to death? The lower class ones need to be alive for compensation. Maybe start with the carotid artery one hm? I think I was a bit careless with that cut. Thanks bud." she suggested off-handedly, not even looking up at him to confirm he was doing so. The silvered haired boy hesitated for a moment, sharing a strange look with the taller, brown haired teammate before complying.

Amaterasu had done this before, Shisui realised. Not just that, but she had done it enough times that she had become used to it. She seamlessly phased into battle and his worries about how she didn't tend to attack during their spars dissipated - she didn't hesitate once and had no qualms about actually injuring someone. She moved to harm and disable naturally, rather than falling back on defence like he was used to her doing when faced against him or Itachi.

Shisui didn't start when one of her clones appeared next to him on the branch, watching her real self explain bounties and bandits to her teammates who were slowly loosening up after the event.

"I'm to find out why you didn't just join us from the beginning or get rid of them before we ran into them?" the clone stated questioningly with a shrug when he raised his eyebrow at her. "It seems Shikaku isn't really as lazy as he wants us to believe... You being here makes a lot of sense. But you didn't do anything."

Shisui let out a dry chuckle.

"Why would I intervene? They barely averaged out to be D-rank as a group."

She huffed an exasperated sigh with an irritated quirked eyebrow.

"That rule changes when more than three quarters of them are _armed_ and when you take into account that it was my teammates' first time facing a real enemy." she shot back, albeit disapprovingly.

Her brother hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the two boys that were currently peering through the D-rank bingo book and trying to identify the tied up group under her real self's guidance.

"So that's why you jumped in head first. You knew they'd freeze."

Amaterasu rolled her eyes.

"No, I just felt like being the reckless idiot of the day. Thanks for the trust, nii-san." she muttered sarcastically.

"The silver haired one was brutal. Bordering on cruel." Shisui commented, and the clone stared at him for a second before nodding once in understanding.

"I'll catch up with you later." she said quietly, patting his arm. "Either way, I'm less stressed now - my team is safer than I thought. I'm going to leave the bandit administration to you."

With that, the clone abruptly puffed away and Shisui grudgingly summoned his crows to report this to the closest outpost under the name 'Amaterasu Uchiha'. Said Amaterasu 'helpfully' stopped a few hundred meters ahead to have lunch until he caught up and he couldn't help but let out an amused grin at her actions.

It was cute that she thought it would take effort to track a genin team in a _forest_ with only a fifteen minute head start.

Shisui let a genuine smile slip onto his face for the first time in a while.

* * *

"I did nothing. I was useless. Again. I'm sorry I'm so pathetic." Chen rubbed at his eyes furiously. Amaterasu knew she had to deal with this, console him properly and take it seriously but she was just so done after the mission and wasn't sure if she was bothered. It had been a simple labour mission once they got to the Fire country's farm, but the way there and back had been quite stressful for her.

She had her afternoon session with Sana in approximately twenty minutes. It wasn't kenjutsu any more, thank goodness, but she was still tired. Sana had stopped the kenjutsu lessons after the third or so session, training extra bukijutsu instead. It seemed Sana was prioritising honing her weapons skills rather than introduce another one. It worked well with Amaterasu - Kenjutsu hurt, bukijutsu didn't.

Amaterasu realised she had zoned out and was absentmindedly patting Chen's shoulder as he shook, trying desperately not to burst into tears of frustration. She glanced pleadingly at Kabuto to say something helpful and he raised an eyebrow.

"It's okay Chen." he said monotonously. "I'm sure you won't be as much of a dead weight next time we're ambushed with the intent to kill."

The Uchiha girl deflated, letting out a silent sigh as Chen stiffened, glaring at the blank-faced silver haired boy heatedly. All his upset phased into anger and he stalked up to his teammate, grabbing the front of his shirt in a threatening fist.

The brown haired boy couldn't say anything in his defence however, and the moment this registered his face darkened and brown eyes flashed in frustration.

"Just you wait, Yakushi." he whispered.

Kabuto said nothing, simply gazing at his teammate through his round glasses. Another moment passed before Chen let go of his shirt and began stalking off the training ground.

"Your taijutsu, bukijutsu and ninjutsu are academy level despite it having been two years since your graduation. To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure how you made it onto a genin team."

The voice made all three children turn to face the person walking casually into the clearing.

"Me being put on this team wasn't my fault." Chen snapped. "I already know I'm the worst on this team, you don't have to say it like that. Besides, I'm not going to be the worst for long!"

Shisui came to rest a few feet away from them, both hands in pockets and looking like he had no care in the world as he smiled gently at the brown haired boy. To anyone else, that might have looked like a sweet, reassuring gesture, but Amaterasu knew that was not the case.

"And yet you're the first to leave this training ground." he commented blithely. "Doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon, if ever."

"What do you _want_? Who are you anyways?" Chen shot back, fists clenching.

Shisui ignored him, tilting his head back to stare at the sky.

"Your team has no balance. Your skillsets, your levels, your attitudes - they're all ridiculously varied. There is still so much you don't know about each other. Your training sessions are spent just doing a D-rank mission that's available, and you're not spending the time improving as a team." Shisui stated, coming to stand a feet away from them. Amaterasu's form immediately relaxed as she caught on, the corner of her mouth quirking up in excitement.

"We have no one who has had experience in a team to guide us, what else did you expect?" she challenged, and he caught her eyes for a moment before shutting them with a resigned sigh.

The next time his lashes parted, the dark irises gleamed.

"Why else would I be here?" he proclaimed softly, and Amaterasu couldn't contain her beaming grin despite her fatigue. She was finally going to be able to spend proper time with her brother for the first time in ages and she was glad.

Sadly, not everyone in the clearing had the same reaction.

"We still have no idea who you are and I have no idea what you're talking about." Chen huffed determinedly, stalking up to the slightly taken aback boy. "This is our team, Shikaku-sensei is our teacher and you're a kid. What do you think you're doing, spouting nonsense like that and being so rude?"

There was a stunned pause. Amaterasu tried very hard to stop the snort threatening to burst out.

"Yeah, what _are_ you doing here? None of us have any idea who you are!" she piped instead, egging her teammate on while she tried valiantly to suppress her smile.

Shisui was quite tall for his age, now thirteen years old and at around 5 foot 2, but Chen was around the same height. Amaterasu wasn't entirely sure how old he was. She knew he had graduated two years ago, but that was also around when war tensions were high and they were pumping out genin earlier than usual. The minimum age was lower than it was during canon too.

"Chen, how old are you?" she asked suddenly, interrupting his interrogation of her brother's capabilities/identity.

" - and you have no right - huh? Me?" he asked, whirling around as he immediately lost his train of thought at the out-of-place question. "I'm eleven."

Amaterasu's eyes widened a fraction at that and she hummed thoughtfully.

"What about you Kabuto?"

He paused at that question, and Amaterasu realised he probably didn't know for sure if his bringing up was the same as canon.

"I am twelve this year." he intoned, pushing his glasses up further up his nose.

"Heh. That's quite funny. I forgot how much of a genius my brother was. No offence." she commented amusedly and Shisui exasperatedly rolled his eyes.

"...What? Ama I know you've been tired recently but in the nicest way possible, I think you've lost it." Chen frowned, concern dotting his features as he turned to stare at her.

Kabuto sighed.

"That boy you've just spent a few minutes berating is the Shisui Uchiha, ranked Jōnin and previous apprentice of Shikaku Nara - i.e. our sensei." he finally spelled out for Chen, looking slightly disgruntled at having to do so. "He is also Amaterasu's elder brother."

The moment when it all sank in was evident in the horror that painted Chen's face a few moments later, and he _gaped_.

Amaterasu did actually lose it and fell to the floor, pealing with laughter for the first time in a while. As she lay there, gasping for breath, she looked up at her brother looking slightly embarrassed and in that moment, she was happy.

* * *

"I am not sure why you are doing this." Inabi frowned, finger tapping on the wood of his desk as he stared at the Uchiha boy.

"I just wanted to let Yashiro-sama know that I will be acting as a jōnin sensei for a genin team." Shisui repeated.

"I didn't ask what, I asked why. You won't even be getting the credit for being the jōnin sensei of that team, Shikaku Nara will. You'll just be the assistant, no matter how much time you invest in them." the second-in-command replied bluntly. "I'm not stupid, Shisui, I know you're doing this for your sister. You're at a critical point in your career. You made it halfway through ANBU training before your sister returned and you pulled out. You could easily take a commander position in the Police Force. Keep at the jōnin duties, take the higher ranked, longer missions that you're qualified for and you have a shot at making Jōnin commander in the future. Not many people have those many options, so why are you throwing your skills away to babysit?"

Shisui stared at the elder Uchiha, face devoid of any emotion.

"Amaterasu's development is important to the clan. I want to take full responsibility for it." he said simply, and Inabi's face changed as he laced his fingers together in front of him. The second-in-command stared at the boy for a long, thoughtful moment.

"She is important to the village." he tried.

"She is first and foremost an Uchiha. Our parents were Uchiha, the people who raised her were Uchiha. The village just attempted to help her train, but I can do better." came the reply, and the boy's voice did not waver once.

A few more tense seconds passed, before Inabi nodded once.

"Is there anything you need?"

"Stop all current sessions that the clan have organised for her. I'll decide her timetable and her progress. Enlist her onto the Uchiha sparring grounds and give her a rank with the other chūnin and jōnin, that way I can prove her progress to you every month."

The dancing candle flame reflected perfectly in Shisui's dark eyes and Inabi found himself grudgingly accepting that the boy was valuable, and that Yashiro would be very happy with this development. It clearly showed that Shisui had loyalty to the Uchiha. He felt relieved. They had been stressing about the girl's loyalty and her training, but now it seemed it was moving in the right direction.

He wouldn't have to spend his evenings training her either. She had the most annoying little quips to say at the most inappropriate times.

"Alright. Anything else?" he asked.

"You're going to have to tell me what the plans for her are if I'm going to get her to a certain standard by a certain time. I heard you gave Sana time limits."

That voice made sense. It would make sense for him to know, if he was trustworthy. Yashiro wouldn't have a problem with that.

"Of course, I'll send for you to join us at the next meeting. You're dismissed." Inabi said finally, waving him off.

Shisui gave a curt bow and promptly disappeared. His surroundings blurred into their home and he breathed heavily as his tense muscles gave out, holding onto the door frame to keep his balance from the blood pumping ferociously behind his temple.

The light reflected the sputtering coal black of his eyes as the genjutsu faded to reveal the three tomoed crimson.

He didn't know what he was doing, but he wanted to observe Inabi's reactions to the things he said. Emotions were not what the Sharingan was usually used to decipher, but he had used it on an espionage mission and it had turned out well.

He hadn't planned to, but he had also ended up spinning the thinnest threads of genjutsu over his clan's second in command.

Shisui rubbed his face, his forehead creasing as he thought.

The genjutsu did basically nothing but speed up Inabi's own thought process and amplify certain thoughts a tad more than others. It wasn't - or shouldn't have been - too noticeable, and even when dispelled (if ever noticed), it wouldn't cause a drastic change in his thought processes so he should never come to the conclusion that his thoughts had been tampered with. Inabi was honestly pleased, bordering on _relieved_ , when Shisui made it clear that he was loyal to the clan over the village, and he genuinely believed him and his proposed intent halfway through the conversation. Taking over control of Ama's training had only been part of the goal Shisui was trying to achieve however.

He wanted to prove that his recent fears were not true, and to do that, he needed to find out exactly what they wanted to do with Amaterasu.

He didn't know what he would do if his speculations _were_ true, and he really didn't want to think about it.

(He honestly would have no idea what to do, and he was scared.)

* * *

 **Hello lovelies, hope you're well.**

 **Chen is a kid. Let's just say that. He is honestly just a normal kid - he seems stupid AF in front of the trio of weirdass geniuses, but they're the weird ones. Just putting that out there!**

 **What's Shisui up to? It was quite him-focused. I really like him as a character but I'm ngl, he is quite different from canon in the sense that his priority is his sister. Remember that scene where he told Itachi and Sasuke that family was the most important thing? If he had family, he wouldn't be vowing with such intensity to keep those two together. I think he knows what it's like to lose family, and in this story, he's lost family and suddenly regained one - hence the slight shift in the character. Hope I've explained that -ish. If anything's unclear do let me know.**

 **Thank you for all your lovely comments, I really really do try to reply, but if I reply like three months after you reviewed I'm sorry! But I will get them done! hehe**

 **Extra scene for you beautiful ones that are sticking with this despite my disappearances T.T Answer to the question in the previous chapter below!**

* * *

"Huh?" Chen blinked, not a hundred percent sure that what he had heard was correct. "But we've only had four training sessions together."

"You have a mission outside the village. You'll be away for two days and a night." Shikaku said, traces of annoyance in his tone at having to repeat himself. "Usually you'd be debriefed in person but the details are already in the scroll. Complete it and go to the Mission desk with a mission completion form signed by the client."

With that, the jōnin disappeared without a trace, leaving the scroll to fall to the floor. Chen and his teammates stared at it for a while before Kabuto gingerly picked it up and unrolled it. Glancing at the Uchiha girl only to find that she seemed more dazed and tired than yesterday, Chen looked hopefully at the silver haired boy to take charge.

"Mission is to help out at a farm a half a day's trek from the village. They've hired us for twelve hours of work." he said thoughtfully.

"Right." Amaterasu stated, letting out a long yawn and blearily rubbing her eyes. "Let's get going then."

To Chen's alarm, she then stretched, before bending her legs to as evident preparation to jump into the trees.

"Wait wait wait!" the poor boy yelped, grabbing her arm. "I-I don't have any stuff!"

The two younger genin stared at him strangely.

"Not even short term stuff? Don't you have an emergency scroll?" Amaterasu asked, her tone doubtful. Chen felt himself getting red in embarrassment.

"Um I mean it's just at home!" he blurted, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I'll be right back!"

He turned and ran off, sprinting to the carpenter's shop that his apartment was located on top of. It was on the outskirts of the village, inconveniently on the other side to the training grounds and he huffed upon arrival after a good fifteen minutes of sprinting, spending a few seconds wheezing outside the shop.

"Do you need supplies?" came a surprised voice to his left and he squawked, jumping back in shock to see that Amaterasu and Kabuto had followed him the whole way. They stared at him, and he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was so inferior even though he was older -

"Nii-san!"

Chen jerked as his little sister shot out of the carpenter's shop and wrapped her arms around his legs. Her twin buns were fixed firmly atop her head and he patted them, squeezing her cheeks as his heart clenched.

"Hey bud. These are my teammates, Kabuto and Amaterasu. We have a mission today!" he said with a forced grin. Oh no. The mission said a couple of days and a night, what was he going to do with his sister?

A small hand took one of his sister's and Amaterasu formally shook her hand, greeting her as if she was a peer. Although, he realised with a start - if Amaterasu had only just turned nine, there was barely a three year difference between the two.

"It's lovely to meet you, what's your name?" she asked, a fond smile on her face.

"Tenten! I'm six!" his sister chirped back and Chen thought he saw Amaterasu stiffen for a second at that, but it must have been his imagination. She was all smiles now.

"Aha really! Let's have a chat while your brother grabs his stuff, hm? Kabuto, you want to go with him?" Ama suggested, and Chen only hesitated for a second before running in. He waved absentmindedly to his guardian-in-anything-but-name, shouting that he had a mission before going up the stairs to his and Tenten's room. He blushed a bit at the mess but invited Kabuto in, who surveyed the room with nothing more than a quick glance.

"You need a sleeping bag, a toothbrush, weapon stocks of whatever you use, water canteen and several ration bars." he listed instead, and Chen hurried to find a backpack. He realised that everything Kabuto suggested didn't fit in his backpack, and had a few moments of panic before Kabuto slowly took out a scroll. With a puff, all his stuff was inside.

"This is for your sleeping back and toothbrush, you already have your weapons stored in scrolls and you can put your ration bars and water into your backpack." he said patiently, holding out the new scroll to him. Chen clumsily shoved everything inside his bag, slung it over his shoulder and gave his teammate a thumbs up.

"Thanks Kabuto, you're a legend." he grinned before shooting back down the stairs.

He did not catch Kabuto frowning - probably at the fact that four chocolate ration bars were not going to last him the mission length. Completely oblivious, the fresh genin lumbered outside to catch the end of Amaterasu's sentence to his awe-struck sister.

" - and Sasuke just slapped him. He _really_ doesn't like anyone touching his tomatoes."

"Can I try?"

"...You want to see whether you can get away with touching his tomatoes?"

"Yeah!"

"That... is a very good idea. You guys can have a sleepover while we're away on the mission. Does that sound fun?"

"YEAH!"

"Perfect. We'll get Itachi to look after you three. You're going to _love_ Naruto, Ten-chan. He's great and he'll teach you how to make Sasuke so red steam comes out of his ears."

Chen watched them high five with a shudder, feeling very concerned for whoever this Itachi person was.

* * *

"Tenten, please don't stab Sasuke's tomatoes. It makes him very upset."

"Okay!"

"Thank you, Tenten."

"After one more!"

Itachi Uchiha despaired as another howl escaped from his poor brother's lips.


	21. Twenty One

Itachi was doing some reading of case reports for cranial trauma when a series of rapid knocks on his front door interrupted him. He hesitantly slid it open after determining who it was, but before he could say anything, the person pushed past him with a languid stretch and a yawn. He shut the door and turned to face the intruder, eyebrow raised as they sprawled themselves out on the rug in the middle of the living room.

"I haven't been in this house for like…three years and yet apparently I've been crashing here when I'm not home." Amaterasu commented lightly, eyes shut as she rolled onto her back. Itachi said nothing as he leaned against the doorway, observing her silently.

"I've been back for two weeks, but I've only seen you four times Itachi. Why did you lie to Shisui?" she asked curiously - not angrily, he noted as she opened her eyes and stared at him.

He gazed at her silently, eyes unwavering as he tried to work out how to say this in a way that wouldn't end up with him losing his composure. Had it been anyone else he would have simply avoided the situation altogether... but it was Ama. Said girl on the floor opened an eye, managing to make that simple gesture show her impatience and he frowned.

"I thought it would be better than him knowing that you slept in the middle of a training ground." he replied stonily. He was not at all happy when he had found her passed out in his genin team's allocated training ground at the crack of dawn. "Not even the Uchiha training grounds Amaterasu, you decided to sleep in the _village_ training grounds. The ones which are open to just about anyone."

Amaterasu's eyes widened in genuine surprise at his tone.

"The reason I haven't been seeing you is because you were mad at me? You avoided me because you were mad and then told my brother I was sleeping over to prevent him from finding out the thing I was doing to make you mad?" she said confusedly and Itachi felt his anger simmer at how silly she made it sound.

"He didn't need to know because I was dealing with it - "

"No, you're missing the point, Itachi." Amaterasu interrupted, sitting up to glare at him. "Had you talked to me, or even just approached me, you would have known that I wasn't sleeping, I was meditating. Kin was always there."

Itachi paused.

"I meditate there because it's the place with the highest concentration of natural energy in the village." she continued, looking exasperated. "Which you would have known if you had decided to do something about it."

"You meditate lying down." Itachi murmured slowly. "Natural energy… it's to do with the training you've done with your summons, I assume? To do with the mind, which is probably why you leave your physical body behind. Like the Yamanaka."

Amaterasu tensed at the mention of the mind-reading clan before shaking her head.

"So you were the 'secret admirer' Kin was going on about." she muttered. "You stayed each night to watch over me?"

At Itachi's silence she groaned, slapping her forehead.

"You're an absolute idiot." she huffed.

"I didn't sense Kin." he defended.

"Of course you can't sense Kin, it's _Kin._ "

"But Kin could sense me? Even while meditating with you?"

"Of course, Itachi. He can exist in both my mental realm and the physical one at the same time. That's his job."

Itachi fell silent once more, face carefully blank.

"…I'm not apologising."

"No, you won't because you're cranky since you've spent at least ten nights out of fourteen pulling night shifts for me."

Itachi glared and Amaterasu smirked.

"See? Cranky." she commented amusedly. "I honestly don't understand why you didn't just wake me up, or approach me when I woke up to ask me what I was doing."

"Because every morning you woke up yelling that you were late and disappeared. I couldn't talk to you any other time of the day because you were busy until midnight, by which time you would pass out at the training grounds."

Amaterasu continued staring at him for a long while before she sighed, getting up from the floor and reaching to give him a hug.

"Of course you don't need to apologise. You're amazing for looking out for me and I missed you a lot. _I'm_ the sorry one. Thank you." she mumbled. "Now let's have an actual sleepover because Shisui's picking me up from here tomorrow morning for my new training schedule. Y'know. Got to make your story believable."

Itachi rolled his eyes and half heartedly punched her shoulder.

"You're on breakfast duty tomorrow."

* * *

"Amaterasu-chan - "

"Mikoto-san! It's been so long, how are you?" said Uchiha girl exclaimed as she animatedly waved her chopsticks around. The woman was staring at her with a slightly apprehensive expression, but she held herself with as much grace as ever. Her navy tinted hair was neatly brushed and hung at the usual length by her shoulders, and her dark eyes were exactly as Ama remembered them to be: calm, with an undertone of steel. It seemed amplified seeing as she was dressed in standard Jōnin attire, with loose pants and a green flak jacket over a long sleeved turtleneck. The only thing that was different was the fact that she was no longer holding a toddler, because said child was currently hiding just behind her right leg with a wary gaze at Amaterasu.

Amaterasu's smile faltered at the innocence in his gaze.

"Kaa-san, why is she burning the eggs?"

A hand gently took the chopsticks from her grip and took control of the pan, shifting the sizzling mess into the bin in one smooth swoop.

"I see your culinary skills are as non-existent as ever. Are you planning on getting married at any point, Amaterasu?" Mikoto gently chastised, eyes dancing with mirth as she quickly cracked some more eggs into the pan.

Ama chuckled sheepishly, stepping out of her way.

"Well… I guess that would depend on whether the potential husband minds having a wife that can't feed the family." she chirped back, reaching out to ruffle Sasuke's long fluffy hair. "Yo, Sasu-chan! Did you miss me?"

"I don't even know who you are!" came the retort and Ama gasped dramatically, clutching her chest.

"You wound me deeply, little prince." she replied blandly, squishing his cheeks with a _little_ more force than necessary. "I tidied up your dirty nappies thirty four times exactly... not that I was counting or anything."

"Stop bullying my otouto, Amaterasu. He's not going to be smaller than you for long."

With a joyful shout of 'Nii-san!' the little bundle of trouble ripped his chubby face out of her hands and went bouncing up to his elder brother with a beaming smile. Before Amaterasu could reply, the mother spoke up.

"Right children, I'm off first today. The eggs are ready and we have rice and leftovers from last night." Mikoto said briskly, slipping on her sandals at the door. "Sasuke, I don't have to remind you to pick up Naruto-kun on your way to the Academy, right?"

"Hai hai, kaa-chan." came the mumbled reply.

"Good. Have a lovely day and I'll see you all soon."

With that, she disappeared and Amaterasu gaped at the five eggs that were presented on three plates. Two each for herself and Itachi, and one for Sasuke. They were perfectly round with the yolks still intact! Itachi took each plate and scooped some rice onto them while Sasuke reached for the neatly packed boxes of leftovers on the counter.

"Wow, I'd forgotten what a proper breakfast looked like." the girl commented, impressed at the range of side dishes in front of them. She only received identical raised eyebrows from the brothers however.

"It's just leftovers and some eggs." Sasuke replied snootily.

"And yet it's more than what a lot of other people have to eat in a whole day." she wondered quietly, before putting her hands together and muttering a thanks for the food. She ignored the look Itachi pinned her with while Sasuke peppered him questions asking if that was really true.

"Yes, Sasuke. We are very lucky to be able to call this a normal breakfast." he said patiently, making his baby brother settle down thoughtfully as he chewed on his food.

The rest of the meal went by quickly and without much conversation and soon Sasuke was being seen off at the door.

"Nii-san, will you be here when I get back?"

Itachi's gaze seemed to portray the answer but the little boy didn't give up.

"Can we train before dinner?"

"Not today, Sasuke."

"Can we train after dinner?"

"Still no, Sasuke."

"Can we make dinner together?"

"Maybe next time."

"Can we - oof! _Ow_ , what was that for?"

The cute little Uchiha rubbed his forehead and squinted up at not his brother, but an amused Amaterasu.

"I always wanted to do that." she mumbled to herself, and Sasuke glared. "Off you go. You're going to be late." she added, making a shooing motion with her hands.

He stuck his tongue out at her.

"You can't tell me what to do!" he retorted, crossing his arms haughtily.

"Sasuke. You're going to be late."

The haughtiness drained from his form at the stern statement and he trudged to the door.

"Hai, nii-san." With a last goodbye, he was finally off.

"He's going to be a problem in the future. I can sense it." Amaterasu stated as they walked back inside, her conjuring up a few shadow clones to take care of the housework. Itachi looked offended.

"He's just being a kid."

"Pfft. You skipped that stage." she replied off-handedly, entering his room to fold up the extra futon he had lent her.

"We all did." he murmured. "So that kids like him don't have to."

Amaterasu had nothing to say to that, brushing her hair and deftly plaiting them into her two usual braids. She strapped on her pouch and stretched.

"It was actually really nice to have a lie in. It's mid morning already and I haven't run a single set of suicides." she wondered, peering out of the window as she absentmindedly stuck a decently sized pebble from one of his potted plants to her forehead. It was like the leaf exercise, but with something much more dense and heavy. As soon as she let go, the strain of the weight against her chakra was noticeable and she stilled, having to focus on keeping it there.

"Where's Shisui?" her companion asked, not at all weirded out by the fact that she was actively willing a rock to stick on her forehead and instead checking through his scroll storage supplies. Apparently he had a mission out of the village but wasn't sure how long it was going to take. Amaterasu had naturally read between the lines within a second, but she could understand why it wasn't supposed to be openly known. It was the very first international Chūnin exams after all.

"Probably on his way to our genin training ground. I lied, he's not picking me up. Apparently he's taking over control of both my team and clan training." she said distractedly, concentrating on keeping a steady stream of chakra fluxing between her skin and the surface of the rock.

"I thought he only wanted to teach specialist tracking..."

Amaterasu made a questioning noise - Itachi wasn't one for trailing off sentences. He correctly interpreted the noise as wanting more information.

"It's classified."

Amaterasu hummed at that and managed to raise an eyebrow while slowly beginning to shift the rock on her forehead to the one side, inching it along with minute push and pulls of her chakra. She felt pretty impressed with herself, even as the concentration strain started leading to a faint headache.

"How does the fact that Shisui started training as a sensei lead to what you were about to tell me being classified?" she asked quizzically, having to pause the chakra control exercise to ask. "Actually, don't tell me. He must have taken you and your team on some sort of training trip, which didn't end well. Wait, your team wants to specialise in tracking?"

"No."

"Then it was just you that went on that training exercise, because you like to be good at everything."

"Amaterasu." Itachi said warningly and she huffed.

"You're no fun, Itachi. Must have been interesting if ANBU were involved." she attempted off-handedly.

Itachi couldn't hide his surprise at that, eyes darting up from what he was doing to pin her with a hard stare. It was exactly what she was hoping for.

"Aha! Called it." she grinned cheekily, making him glare heatedly. "You can't hide anything from me." she sing-songed, and he looked heavily disturbed... Well, as heavily disturbed as Itachi Uchiha could look.

"Always nice to chat, Tachi. I love how detailed your descriptions are and how I never have to work out what you're actually saying." she chirped sarcastically, before shooting him a small smile. "I'll see you around. Good luck for the exams and _talk_ to me instead of assuming like an ass, alright?"

With that, she cut the chakra connecting to the rock and disappeared before it dropped back into the pot.

The young Uchiha hit the ground running as she appeared on the rooftop, gently warming her muscles up with chakra and massaging her forehead. She hummed as she rolled the energy around, feeling comfortable with it being such an intrinsic part of her now. It was strange to try and think back to a time when she didn't think it actually existed. She just _got_ it now, particularly after training with the lynxes, and she wasn't exactly sure why but she loved it.

When she arrived at the training ground, she saw that Chen was already there, running through taijutsu drills on a wooden training post. He looked like he had been there for a while since he was sweaty, the water bottle was empty and his jacket discarded. The kata were the final year academy techniques though and although his execution of them was perfect, with good speed and strength, he needed a new style that was adapted to him if he was actually going to use it against other shinobi.

Chen was an interesting development. She didn't know whether he had existed in canon, but all things considered he probably had. He could have died early on and that was the reason for him never being relevant, although Tenten had basically been a background character even as a member of Gai's team, so perhaps he had been alive, as a shinobi or not. Either way, he was relevant to _her_ life and now that she didn't have a ridiculous clan schedule to worry about, she was going to make sure that he did not remain as a liability to their team for long.

A kunai whistled past his ear and slammed into the post in front of him, making him jump and whirl around in shock. Amaterasu frowned at that. He had no awareness of his surroundings whatsoever and his reaction had been to simply gape offendedly at the assaulter.

Ignoring whatever exclamation he was running his mouth through as background noise, she simply gave him the polite gesture of presenting the pointy weapons she was about to throw at him before actually doing so. His volume actually increased for a few seconds, until he realised she wasn't going to stop and promptly shut up, desperately concentrating on not being hit by the very real, pointy weapons.

Amaterasu was hit with a sudden feeling of déjà vu as she flitted around the clearing, loosely aiming kunai and shuriken at the older boy, close enough to make him jerk away. Her original reactions to this kind of training had been exactly the same as his, in response to Fugaku who had introduced the method to her when she was three.

That felt like a lifetime ago.

"You started this training when you were _three?!_ " Chen yelped as one sliced into his sandal.

"Ah. Did I say that out loud?" she replied, aloof, still basking in nostalgia. A clang startled her out of her daydream a few moments later and she blinked out of her reverie to see Shisui crouched over Chen... who was bleeding from a gash on his shoulder.

"Oops." she mouthed, catching the eyes of a confused looking Kabuto who had just entered the clearing. Despite being the medic, he didn't immediately run over to get to work on mending the wound. Shisui had to ask him to heal it before he moved to do so. Amaterasu didn't really know why she noted that but she did.

Her brother walked over to her, looking faintly exasperated but not particularly angry that she had been assaulting her teammate.

'Ninja.' she reminded herself internally.

"It was his first time, Ama. Your aim must be slightly off, not dead on, or he'll be injured enough to be excused from training." he advised knowingly, completely serious.

'...Uchiha.' Amaterasu reasoned to herself once more. She refrained from snorting, instead walking over and asking her teammate if he was alright. He looked a rather interesting shade of green, but was still alive and not particularly upset. Things were chill.

A few minutes later and everything was back in order, the three of them seated comfortably on the grass in a semicircle while Shisui stood in front of them.

"I hope you've enjoyed your lie in today, because we'll meet here at dawn every day starting from tomorrow." he informed them. "We'll warm up together then split off into developing each of your personal skills till noon. We may take a mission in the afternoon or we could work on something else team based. Once a week we'll have sparring matches a bit out of the village so we can go all out. Whether it's versus each other, me or another team will be determined at the time."

Shisui paused to stare critically, his gaze shifting over them one at a time, before he crouched to be more on their level. He then let out the purest, most _reassuring_ smile Amaterasu had ever seen and she blinked, taken aback at his expression and his next words.

"My name is Shisui Uchiha and my promise to you as a part of this team is that I will _never_ betray you." he promised quietly, and her brother let that hang for a while before stretching to his full height once more. "If you need help of any kind, you can come to me. Be it something to do with training, teammates, the village - if it's affecting you then it'll be my business and I will help you, because we're a team."

Amaterasu let her brother's charisma wash over her in waves and was honestly surprised that she was experiencing this side of him for the first time.

It clicked why this boy was made jōnin despite his age. Not just because of his abilities or experience, but due to this _skill_ to make his team trust him enough to willingly follow him to the ends of the earth. Such a skill was a god given gift, and it was affecting her teammates. Chen had stars in his eyes and even Kabuto seemed a little shaken at the sincerity of the leader in front of them.

"My job as captain of this team will be concluded the moment you'll apply this exact philosophy with each other. Trust and believe in each other and yourselves. Fight for each other and let the others fight for _you_." Shisui continued, his words sure and unwavering.

"I am this team's captain. I will oversee your training and teach you everything I can, but if I think you can benefit from someone who specialises in what you're struggling with, I won't have any qualms with asking them to help you. I will go through my best efforts to get you learning opportunities because your development as individuals contributes to the development of our team. I expect you to give that same dedication. Have I made myself clear?"

There was a slight pause as the three genin gathered their wits, but they slowly shared a look and chorused a firm "Hai Taichō!".

Shisui smiled.

"Let's begin by evaluating each other's levels. Kabuto, you sit this one out with me while Amaterasu and Chen spar."

Chen paled.

* * *

Amaterasu let Chen warm up to it, dancing around and trading blows at a languid pace, letting him showcase his clean, basic taijutsu. She picked up the pace slightly once it was clear his nerves had begun to settle and he kept up.

"Do you remember our very first spar, Amaterasu?" he asked as he scrambled for a kunai to swipe at her, making her flip backwards to gain distance. She tilted her head at him curiously.

"Yes, of course." she replied, taking out a kunai of her own and absentmindedly twirling it around her finger.

"I went easy on you then because I thought you were a kid." he continued, taking out a scroll from his pouch. "And you went easy on me because you thought I was just shit at taijutsu."

Amaterasu tensed, studying him and their surroundings with a contemplative gaze. He was stalling for time. Did he have a clone somewhere setting things up? He said he could only do the academy jutsu so unless he lied that couldn't be the case. What was he playing at?

"I am shit at taijutsu, but that's not all I can do."

The younger girl watched as he unraveled the scroll, and before he did anything else she spoke up, simultaneously molding chakra in preparation for what was going to happen next.

"You're going to have to come at me with the intent to kill if we want to show Shisui-taichō anything worth his time. We need to trust the team. Taichō won't let us die." she coaxed, rolling her shoulders back as her skin buzzed from the unrestricted chakra seeping into her muscles.

His eyes widened slightly at that, shivering from the new sense of _something_ in the air. Chen smirked.

"Fine." he concluded, and with a spark of chakra, smoke puffed and a barrage of kunai shot at her. She dodged most of them, blocking a few before running straight at him. Only pure instinct and the faint whistle of weapons flying from behind made her dodge with a sharp jump to the side, making another barrage of kunai sink into the dirt where she had been milliseconds before.

'Where the heck did _that_ come from?'

Her eyes widened at the large log that was hurtling towards her at an alarming speed and she unconsciously shuffled through handseals, the previously idle chakra she had molded heaving from her stomach. It was converted into concentrated heat, into unrestricted, raw _power_ -

'Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)'

The fireball burst from her lips and impacted the log, forcing the charred wood away from her despite its original momentum. In the time it took the log to hit the ground she had landed crouched on a nearby tree trunk, completely unharmed.

The sneaky shit had laid traps all over the clearing before they all arrived! Her realisation made a positive emotion swell in her - Chen did not want to look like a pushover. She scanned the clearing but he had disappeared, making her frown.

'Kage Bunshin no jutsu'

Her chakra took the form of another _her_ , her reserves now alarmingly half of what they were. It made her breath hitch slightly at the sudden loss, something she had never really got used to. The replica jumped off the trunk and back into the clearing, where it was promptly forced into a certain section through tactically placed barrages of weapons. Once positioned, it only took a bout of rapid taijutsu, courtesy of the newly reappeared Chen, for the clone to slip into the genjutsu covered hole. It was deep enough that the clone promptly dispelled upon hitting the bottom. The memories flowed back, showing Amaterasu the dimensions of the hole, along with the clone's chakra that smoothly but quickly filled her reserves to what they were before she used the jutsu. Again, a sensation Amaterasu did not particularly enjoy.

The Uchiha had spent the time her distraction afforded her scanning the clearing with her Sharingan to unveil the extent and locations of the traps set. Chen had returned into hiding after seeing that it was a clone, and Amaterasu let him, preoccupied with thinking up an effective strategy.

There were a lot of traps and without Chen on her side to explain what the precise triggers were she had no idea when they would be set off. She could theoretically summon a veritable horde of clones and charge at Chen straight on, Naruto style, but she _really_ didn't like the influx of their memories, or the feeling of sudden draining/refilling her of her chakra reserves.

'Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)' she intoned instead, applying nature transformation to alter her chakra into a churning blast of cool wind, laden with power. Upon leaving her mouth, it took the form of a miniature typhoon which screamed through the trees where most of the traps had been based. The sound of kunai ejectors going off and logs slamming to the ground were clear and she persisted until Chen tumbled out of hiding, scratched arms crossed against the strong gust.

Amaterasu wasted no time, cutting off the jutsu and leaping forwards to reach Chen before he could recover. However, just as she got close, her Sharingan highlighted the explosive tags lining the scroll he was holding. He chucked it at her and jumped the other way, evidently having set it off when in hiding. Amaterasu barely had a moment to latch on to a nearby log in her peripherals before the explosion invested her position.

Thank fuck she had trained extensively on how to perform the Kawarimi no jutsu without handseals. Chen really had prepared a lot more than she expected.

They stood at opposite ends of the clearing once more, breathing heavier than at the beginning and with Amaterasu's irises gleaming crimson. Without warning she flung kunai after kunai, shuriken after shuriken in an intense pattern of two, three or even four at a time. It was the most extensive shurikenjutsu she had ever managed to learn, requiring perfect timing, speed, strength and precision, so she focused on her technique and not on what Chen was doing. The weapons clanged against each other at specific times, and as soon as Chen became preoccupied trying to defend from attacks coming from angles he couldn't possibly predict, Ama sank underground.

The match was over when she grabbed his ankle and buried him up to his neck in soil, surfacing just in time to stop the final kunai from stabbing him in the face. Amaterasu shook out the dirt in her hair and dusted off her clothes as she plopped down next to his head with a sigh.

"You alright down there?" she asked after a few moments of silence, and Chen rolled his eyes.

"I give. You win." he admitted easily, letting out a long breath. "So two hours of preparation equated to just this. That was barely five minutes."

"Four minutes and thirteen seconds if we're being picky." Shisui added helpfully, approaching them with slow claps. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"You're a genius." Amaterasu said flatly, glaring at the head of the boy she had just buried. He craned his head to look up at her incredulously.

"Are _you_ seriously the one saying that about _me_?"

She shook her head, tapping her temple to draw attention to her red eyes.

"I don't forget things when I see them with these and it seems neither do you. Except you don't need chakra for it, just your brain. You memorised the full layouts of all the traps we encountered when we were evaluated by Shikaku, didn't you? I saw some of the triggers and ejectors positioned exactly the same way. You set them all up perfectly. After seeing them _once_. In a high stress environment." she said thoughtfully. "You graduated the Academy early at age nine and students are usually picked for early graduation depending on the knowledge-based exam scores. Do you find rote memorisation of a textbook easy?"

"I- w-what… I just - " the poor boy spluttered incoherently.

"You have photographic memory, don't you." Amaterasu cut in instead, looking at him with a frightening intensity that made him squawk.

"I don't even know what that is!" Chen huffed, looking flustered by her evaluation.

She ignored what he said, choosing instead to glare at him heatedly following a sudden revelation.

"That means you _did_ still go easy on me. You could have replicated the explosive ones with the four tier wires and you didn't." she marvelled. Chen squeaked.

"No way. You're crazy. Do you know how dangerous those are? They're used to behead people on the spot and can amputate limbs if I do something the slightest bit wrong!"

Chen was once again ignored as Amaterasu shared a look with her brother.

"The photographic memory bit has to be investigated further, but there's no denying he has _insane_ potential. He'll be flooring me in no time if I don't improve my strategies." she mumbled, eyes glazed as her thoughts whirred at seventy miles an hour. Shisui flicked her forehead, snapping her out of it.

"Kabuto, your thoughts?" he asked.

The boy pushed his glasses up his nose before he replied, looking solemn.

"I don't think this was a fair match. The playing field was Chen's - he had unlimited time, or as he said, two hours setting it up before. He wouldn't be able to do that in a real life situation."

"We didn't decide what the event was though. If Chen was playing the part of an ambush and I was the target, then this is how it would've played out. I don't think the question of whether it was 'fair' matters much in this match." Amaterasu quipped back.

"Kabuto is right, Ama. This was supposed to be a sparring match." Shisui intervened however.

"I don't think Chen did anything wrong. He prepped the place to his advantage and it was a result of his own proactivity. Surely that's what ninja do?" Amaterasu frowned.

"I never said he did anything wrong. _You_ were the careless one, starting a match before asking your opponent or proctor to declare whether the terrain is fair and doing the first stage of the seal of confrontation." Shisui replied. "As I said, this is a village sparring match, so that's what you should have done."

Ama opened her mouth, and then promptly shut it. Her knowledge of matches was unconsciously based on Naruto's Chūnin examinations - which technically hadn't happened yet. Thinking back to her actual experiences, what Shisui said was true. They had been taught at the Academy that the first stage of the seal of confrontation - outstretching two fingers before the start of the match - meant they were approaching this match in a fair and honorable way.

"Huh, you're absolutely right. I forgot." she realised. She helped dig out Chen's arm and locked two fingers around his, finishing the seal of reconciliation thoughtfully. She never realised how different fights within the village and between villages actually were, but it made sense now she thought about it.

Her breath hitched as a thought struck her. Itachi was used to _this_ system. He was going to the Chūnin exams. They didn't do this honour/comrade stuff over there. How much had Itachi changed from the coldly calculative, one track minded one from the anime?

An image of Itachi, staring at her exasperatedly but with a subtly caring, contented aura and a slightly awkward figure of speaking - He was going to be fine though, right? He couldn't die. He was still a good shinobi even with all the medic stuff, right?

The first Chūnin exams were probably going to be rigged and heavily monitored because it was a matter of village pride, especially since it was so close after the end of the war. A loss didn't just mean a potential lack of promotion... It was going to reflect the strength of your village. The villages were only going to send shinobi that were definitely beyond qualified to achieve the rank of chūnin, those who all had experience in the war so that they would know what was at stake. Amaterasu wouldn't put it past some villages to put forward ninja that were already experienced chūnin, if it meant they would win.

A spark of chakra to her shoulder made her blink out of her thoughts and she realised that Chen and Kabuto were positioning themselves in the middle of the clearing once more.

"What is it, Ama?" her brother asked gently after the two began the spar by running towards each other to engage in taijutsu.

Amaterasu gazed up at him, and her expression must have shown her fear because the hand on her shoulder tensed.

"The Chūnin exams..." she began slowly. "There won't be a seal of confrontation or anything like that, will there?"

Shisui's face darkened for a moment before he gave her a reassuring squeeze coupled with a bright smile. It seemed so genuine Amaterasu wanted so badly to believe it was real.

"It's Itachi, Amaterasu." he reminded her from the corner of his mouth. "He's exceptional."

"He's also an iryōnin now. His priority won't be offence." she whispered back, trying to seem like she was focusing on the fight in front of her.

"His fighting style was like that in the first place. Centred around defence, keeping back, seeing how they reacted to his genjutsu and analysing the opponent before making his moves. The medic stuff is just an added bonus. You didn't think your brother was going to let him slack on the shinobi side of things, did you?" Shisui murmured. "I took him on a training trip with me only last week and he did well. He'll be fine."

Amaterasu watched as Chen unleashed one of the few of his traps that were still intact, making Kabuto dodge by slipping underground. That turned out to be a good move because one of the kunai had an explosive tag attached to it.

"Yeah, the one that escalated to getting involved with ANBU." she muttered under her breath, fully intending for him to hear it. Shisui didn't initially react - he was far too good for that. When he spoke next however, his tone was frosty.

"How did you -"

"Classified, I know. Don't worry, Itachi said nothing. But why else would a simple training exercise within the village perimeter become classified? We have no war going on so it's not enemy infiltration, meaning it must be internal strife. No chūnin or genin would have been where you were because you were supposed to be tracking someone - presumably the jōnin supervising your exercise. You must have been in a remote area and somewhere off the routes usually taken by other shinobi when going in and out of the village or it wouldn't have been an isolated exercise. So no one should've been there at all, let alone causing enough trouble that you had to intervene." she murmured quickly.

"It wasn't the Konoha Police because you wouldn't be here teaching us if that was the case. So... what's the only other group of shinobi that are important enough to turn a training exercise into a _classified_ case. ANBU. Hence, ANBU problems."

Shisui pinned her with an odd look before returning his gaze to the fight.

"I literally have no idea how there can be problems with a group like ANBU, which is supposed to be elite shinobi, handpicked by the Hokage himself for their loyalty, but that was just my musing. It would have remained just a musing but your and Itachi's reactions just told me I was right." she shrugged in a 'what can you do' manner.

"Your 'musings' have gotten you in trouble before and they will get you in trouble again." Shisui breathed with a touch of unrestrained anger, and she stiffened at that. " _No one gets to know what they aren't supposed to know without any consequences (1)._ Think about what you're going to say and _before_ you say it, 'muse' through any potential consequences since you're so good at it. You'll realise that there'll be scenarios where you can do yourself a favour by just keeping your mouth shut."

Amaterasu's head bowed at his words, cheeks reddening in embarrassment and shame. That... was brutal. Brutally honest and something she probably did need to hear, but it still stung. One would think that she would have realised this from her traumatic prior experiences but apparently not.

Why was she like this? How did her pride override basic common sense? She was well into her thirties and still being... what was _wrong_ with her?

Self loathing washed over her in waves as she tried to think of words to say to her brother that would make this better.

Before she could say anything at all however, he clapped as the match in front of them came to a close. Amaterasu shoved her thoughts on the matter to the back of her mind and focused on team training for the rest of the morning.

Shisui left for a mission of his own after briefing them on a babysitting D-rank, and although she did try to wait up for him, he didn't come home that night. Strangely enough, neither did Kin.

* * *

 **I'm back! Thank you for your reviews and your interest! Thoughts on Itachi and how he's changed? Think he'll be too soft to be the cold decision maker that got things done?**

 **(1) Shoutout to anyone that can tell me who said this and which chapter! I will honestly be so impressed if you remember.**


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